Potter and Black and the Chamber of Secrets
by Marauder's Lilyflower
Summary: Andromeda and the gang are back for their second year at Hogwarts. Sequel to Potter and Black and the Philosopher's Stone.
1. Chapter 1 - The Worst Birthday

**Hey! So this is the second story. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of JK's characters, only my own.**

 **Chapter 1 - The Worst Birthday**

Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over breakfast at number four, Privet Drive. Mr. Vernon Dursley had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a loud, hooting noise from his nephew Harry's room.

To be fair, it wasn't just Harry's room, but his best friend Andromeda's room, too. They had been living with the Dursleys for eleven miserable years.

"Third time this week!" Vernon Dursley roared across the table. "If you can't control that owl, it'll have to go!"

Harry tried, yet again, to explain.

"She's bored," he said. "She's used to flying around outside. If I could just let her out at night -"

"Do I look stupid?" snarled Uncle Vernon, a bit of fried egg dangling from his bushy moustache.

"Yes," Andromeda muttered next to Harry.

"I know what'll happen if that owl's let out."

He exchanged dark looks with his wife, Petunia.

Harry tried to argue back but his words were drowned by a long, loud belch from the Dursleys' son, Dudley.

"I want more bacon."

"There's more in the frying pan, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia, turning misty eyes on her massive son. "We must build you up while we've got the chance ... I don't like the sound of that school food ..."

"Nonsense, Petunia, I never went hungry when I was at Smeltings," said Uncle Vernon heartily. "Dudley gets enough, don't you, son?"

Dudley, who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair, grinned and turned to Harry.

"Pass the frying pan."

"You've forgotten the magic word," said Harry irritably.

The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the family was incredible: Dudley gasped and fell off his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen; Mrs. Dursley gave a small scream and clapped her hands to her mouth; Mr. Dursley jumped to his feet, veins throbbing in his temples.

"I meant `please'!" said Harry quickly. "I didn't mean -"

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU," thundered his uncle, spraying spit over the table, "ABOUT SAYING THE `M' WORD IN OUR HOUSE?"

"But I -"

"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN DUDLEY!" roared Uncle Vernon, pounding the table with his fist.

"I just -"

"I WARNED YOU! I WILL NOT TOLERATE MENTION OF YOUR ABNORMALITY UNDER THIS ROOF!"

Harry stared from his purple-faced uncle to his pale aunt, who was trying to heave Dudley to his feet.

"All right," said Harry, "all right..."

Uncle Vernon sat back down, breathing like a winded rhinoceros and watching Harry closely out of the corners of his small, sharp eyes.

"You know," Andromeda said, picking up her bacon, "he did just mean 'please'. Matters exist, or so I'm told."

Ever since Harry and Andromeda had come home for the summer holidays, Uncle Vernon had been treating them like bombs that might go off at any moment, because Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy and Andromeda Black wasn't a normal girl. As a matter of fact, they were as not normal as it is possible to be.

Harry Potter and Andromeda Black was a witch and wizard - a witch and wizard fresh from their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And if the Dursleys were unhappy to have them back for the holidays, it was nothing to how Harry and Andromeda felt.

They both missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomach ache. They missed the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, their classes and teachers (though perhaps not Snape, the Potions master), the mail arriving by owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall, sleeping in their four-poster beds in the tower dormitory, visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid, in his cabin next to the Forbidden Forest in the grounds, and, especially, Quidditch, the most popular sport in the wizarding world (six tall goal posts, four flying balls, and fourteen players on broomsticks).

All Harry's and Andromeda's spellbooks, their wands, robes, cauldrons, and top-of-the-line Nimbus Two Thousand broomsticks had been locked in a cupboard under the stairs by Uncle Vernon the instant Harry and Andromeda had come home. What did the Dursleys care if Harry and Andromeda lost their place on the House Quidditch team because they hadn't practiced all summer? What was it to the Dursleys if Harry and Andromeda went back to school without any of their homework done? The Dursleys were what wizards called Muggles (not a drop of magical blood in their veins), and as far as they were concerned, having a wizard in the family was a matter of deepest shame. Uncle Vernon had even padlocked Harry's owl, Hedwig, inside her cage, to stop her from carrying messages to anyone in the wizarding world and even Andromeda's cat, Midnight, was to be confined to their room.

Harry looked nothing like the rest of the family. Uncle Vernon was large and neckless, with an enormous black moustache; Aunt Petunia was horse-faced and bony; Dudley was blond, pink, and porky. Harry, on the other hand, was small and skinny, with brilliant green eyes and jet-black hair that was always untidy. He wore round glasses, and on his forehead was a thin, lightning-shaped scar.

Andromeda was not related to the Dursleys at all, which was evident with her long black hair, grey eyes and fair skin. Although she was able to change her appearances, a rarity even among witches and wizards, she did all she could do not look anything like the Dursleys. Most of the time, when becoming too angry or too sad, or even sometimes when she was bottling feelings up, her hair changed colours. They despised her power to change appearance, and it was Andromeda's favourite game to change her hair colour into the most absurd colours. Andromeda, too, like Harry, had a lightning-shaped scar, although it was on her left forearm instead of her forehead.

It was these scars that made Harry and Andromeda so particularly unusual, even for a witch and wizard. These scars were the only hint of Harry and Andromeda's very mysterious past, of the reason they had been left on the Dursleys' doorstep eleven years before.

At the age of one year old, both Harry and Andromeda had somehow survived a curse from the greatest Dark sorcerer of all time, Lord Voldemort, whose name most witches and wizards still feared to speak. Harry's parents and Andromeda's mother had died in Voldemort's attack, but Harry and Andromeda had escaped with their lightning scars, and somehow - nobody understood why Voldemort's powers had been destroyed the instant he had failed to kill Harry and Andromeda, although only the Dursleys, Harry, and their friends Dorcas and Noah knew about Andromeda's scar and involvement.

So Harry and Andromeda had been brought up by Harry's dead mother's sister and her husband. They had spent ten years with the Dursleys, never understanding why they kept making odd things happen without meaning to, believing the Dursleys' story that they had got their scars in the car crash that had killed their parents.

And then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry and Andromeda, and the whole story had come out. Harry and Andromeda had taken up their place at wizard school, where Harry and his scar were famous ... but now the school year was over, and they were back with the Dursleys for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly.

The Dursleys hadn't even remembered that today happened to be Harry's twelfth birthday. Of course, his hopes hadn't been high; they'd never given him a real present, let alone a cake - but to ignore it completely...

Andromeda, on the other hand, had woken Harry up by jumping on him and singing him 'Happy Birthday'.

At that moment, Uncle Vernon cleared his throat importantly and said, "Now, as we all know, today is a very important day."

Harry and Andromeda looked up, hardly daring to believe it.

"This could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career," said Uncle Vernon.

Harry and Andromeda went back to their toast. Of course, Andromeda thought bitterly, Uncle Vernon was talking about the stupid dinner party. He'd been talking of nothing else for two weeks. Some rich builder and his wife were coming to dinner and Uncle Vernon was hoping to get a huge order from him (Uncle Vernon's company made drills).

"I think we should run through the schedule one more time," said Uncle Vernon. "We should all be in position at eight o'clock. Petunia, you will be -?"

"In the lounge," said Aunt Petunia promptly, "waiting to welcome them graciously to our home."

"Good, good. And Dudley?"

"I'll be waiting to open the door." Dudley put on a foul, simpering smile. "May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"

"They'll love him!" cried Aunt Petunia rapturously.

"Excellent, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon. Then he rounded on Harry and Andromeda. "And you two?"

"We'll be in our bedroom, making no noise and pretending we're not there," said Harry tonelessly.

"Exactly," said Uncle Vernon nastily. "I will lead them into the lounge, introduce you, Petunia, and pour them -drinks. At eight- fifteen -"

"I'll announce dinner," said Aunt Petunia.

"And, Dudley, you'll say -"

"May I take you through to the dining room, Mrs. Mason?" said Dudley, offering his fat arm to an invisible woman.

"My perfect little gentleman!" sniffed Aunt Petunia.

"And you two?" said Uncle Vernon viciously to Harry and Andromeda.

"We'll be in our room, making no noise and pretending we're not there," said Andromeda dully.

"Precisely. Now, we should aim to get in a few good compliments at dinner. Petunia, any ideas?"

"Vernon tells me you're a wonderful golfer, Mr. Mason... Do tell me where you bought your dress, Mrs. Mason ..."

"Perfect...Dudley?"

"How about -'We had to write an essay about our hero at school, Mr. Mason, and I wrote about you."'

This was too much for Aunt Petunia, Andromeda and Harry. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and hugged her son, while Harry and Andromeda ducked under the table so they wouldn't see them laughing.

"And you two?"

They fought to keep their faces straight as they emerged.

"We'll be in our room, making no noise and pretending we're not there," they said in unison.

"Too right, you will," said Uncle Vernon forcefully. "The Masons don't know anything about you two and it's going to stay that way. When dinner's over, you take Mrs. Mason back to the lounge for coffee, Petunia, and I'll bring the subject around to drills. With any luck, I'll have the deal signed and sealed before the news at ten and be shopping for a vacation home in Majorca this time tomorrow. Neither Andromeda nor Harry couldn't feel too excited about this. They didn't think the Dursleys would like them any better in Majorca than they did on Privet Drive. "Right - I'm off into town to pick up the dinner jackets for Dudley and me. And you two," he snarled at Harry and Andromeda. "You stay out of your aunt's way while she's cleaning."

The two of them left through the back door. It was a brilliant, sunny day. They crossed the lawn, slumped down on the garden bench and stared at their surroundings. They gazed miserably into the hedge. It was Harry's birthday and not one present or card was sent to Privet Drive. More than anything else at Hogwarts, more even than playing Quidditch, Harry and Andromeda missed their best friends, Ron Weasley, Dorcas Lupin, Noah Pettigrew and Hermione Granger. They, however, didn't seem to be missing them at all. None of them had written to them all summer, even though Ron had said he was going to ask Harry and Andromeda to come and stay. Even Dorcas, Noah and Andromeda's Uncle Remus had said they could visit on the holidays, but not one letter or invitation was sent their way. Countless times, Harry and Andromeda had been on the point of unlocking Hedwig's cage by magic and sending her to someone with a letter, but it wasn't worth the risk. Underage wizards weren't allowed to use magic outside of school. Harry and Andromeda hadn't told the Dursleys this; they knew it was only their terror that they might turn them all into dung beetles that stopped them from locking them in the cupboard under the stairs with their wands and broomsticks. For the first couple of weeks back, Harry and Andromeda had enjoyed muttering nonsense words under their breaths and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fast as his fat legs would carry him. But the long silence from Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione had made Harry and Andromeda feel so cut off from the magical world that even taunting Dudley had lost its appeal - and now everyone had forgotten Harry's birthday.

What wouldn't they give now for a message from Hogwarts? From any witch or wizard? They'd almost be glad of a sight of their archenemy, Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn't all been a dream...

Not that their whole year at Hogwarts had been fun. At the very end of last term, Harry and Andromeda had come face-to-face with none other than Lord Voldemort himself. Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, but he was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power. Harry and Andromeda had slipped through Voldemort's clutches for a second time, but it had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, they kept waking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering where Voldemort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes

Andromeda suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. They had been staring absent-mindedly into the hedge - and the hedge was staring back. Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.

She nudged Harry and they jumped to their feet just as a jeering voice floated across the lawn.

"I know what day it is," sang Dudley, waddling toward him.

The huge eyes blinked and vanished.

"What?" said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they had been.

"I know what day it is," Dudley repeated, coming right up to him.

"Well done," said Harry. "So you've finally learned the days of the week."

"Today's your birthday," sneered Dudley. "How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you even got friends at that freak place?"

"Better not let your mum hear you talking about our school," said Andromeda coolly.

Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fat bottom.

"Why're you staring at the hedge?" he said suspiciously.

"I'm trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it on fire," said Andromeda.

Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.

"You c-can't - Dad told that you're not to do m-magic - he said he'll chuck you out of the house - and you haven't got anywhere else to go - you haven't got any friends to take you -"

"Jiggery pokery!" said Harry in a fierce voice. "Hocus pocus squiggly wiggly -"

"MUUUUUUM!" howled Dudley, tripping over his feet as he dashed back toward the house. "MUUUUM! They're doing you know what!"

Harry and Andromeda paid dearly for his moment of fun. As neither Dudley nor the hedge was in any way hurt, Aunt Petunia knew they hadn't really done magic, but they still had to duck as she aimed a heavy blow at their heads with the soapy frying pan. Then she gave them work to do, with the promise they wouldn't eat again until they'd finished.

While Dudley lolled around watching and eating ice cream, Harry and Andromeda cleaned the windows, washed the car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the flowerbeds, pruned and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench. The sun blazed overhead, burning the back of their necks. They knew they shouldn't have risen to Dudley's bait, but Dudley had said the very thing they had been thinking themselves... maybe they didn't have any friends at Hogwarts...

"He's wrong," Andromeda wondered aloud. Harry looked at her. "We do have a place to go. We have Ron's or Uncle Moony's -"

"And where are they?" Harry said. "They've forgotten us."

It was half past seven in the evening when at last, exhausted, they heard Aunt Petunia calling them.

"Get in here! And walk on the newspaper!"

Harry and Andromeda moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen. On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding: a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets. A loin of roast pork was sizzling in the oven.

"Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!" snapped Aunt Petunia, pointing to four slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the kitchen table. She was already wearing a salmon-pink cocktail dress.

Harry and Andromeda washed their hands and bolted down their pitiful supper. The moment they had finished, Aunt Petunia whisked away their plate. "Upstairs! Hurry!"

As they passed the door to the living room, Andromeda caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in bow ties and dinner jackets. They had only just reached the upstairs landing when the door bell rang and Uncle Vernon's furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs. "Remember, boy, girl - one sound -" Harry and Andromeda crossed to their shared bedroom on tiptoe, slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on their bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it.


	2. Chapter 2 - Dobby's Warning

**Chapter 2 - Dobby's Warning**

Harry and Andromeda managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. Andromeda knew instantly that this was what had been watching them out of the garden hedge that morning. She also knew from her visits to the Hogwarts kitchens what this creature was; a house-elf.

As they all stared at each other, Andromeda heard Dudley's voice from the hall.

"May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"

The house-elf slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Andromeda noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.

"Er - hello," said Harry nervously.

"Harry Potter!" said the house-elf in a high-pitched voice Andromeda was sure would carry down the stairs. "So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir ... Such an honor it is... ."

"Th-thank you," said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into their desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage.

"Who are you?" Andromeda said.

"Dobby, miss. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf," said the creature.

"Oh - really?" said Harry. "Er - I don't want to be rude or anything, but - this isn't a great time for us to have a house-elf in our bedroom."

Aunt Petunias high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elf hung his head.

"Not that we're not pleased to meet you," said Harry quickly, gesturing to him and Andromeda, "but, er, is there any particular reason you're here?"

"Oh, yes, sir," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you, sir ... it is difficult, sir ... Dobby wonders where to begin... ."

"Sit down," said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.

To their horror, the elf burst into tears - very noisy tears.

"S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never ... never ever..."

Andromeda thought he heard the voices downstairs falter.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, sitting down on the bed, "He didn't mean to offend you or anything -"

"Offend Dobby!" choked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard - like an equal-"

Harry, trying to say "Shh!" and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, looking like a large and very ugly doll. At last he managed to control himself, and sat with his great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of watery adoration.

"You can't have met many decent wizards," said Harry, trying to cheer him up.

Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"

"Don't - what are you doing?" Andromeda hissed, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed - Hedwig had woken up with a particularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage. Midnight, who was snoozing on their pillow, jumped up and meowed loudly.

"Dobby had to punish himself, miss," said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, miss... ."

"Your family?" Harry asked.

"The wizard family Dobby serves, sir... Dobby is a house-elf - bound to serve one house and one family forever . ...

"Do they know you're here?" asked Harry curiously.

Dobby shuddered.

"Oh, no, sir, no ... Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir _"

"But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?" Andromeda said.

"Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments..."

"But why don't you leave? Escape?"

"A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free ... Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir... ."

Andromeda stared.

"And we thought we had it bad staying here for another four weeks," Harry said. "This makes the Dursleys sound almost human. Can't anyone help you? Can't we?"

Almost at once, Andromeda wished he hadn't spoken. Dobby dissolved again into wails of gratitude.

"Please," Andromeda whispered frantically, "please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you're here -"

"Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby ... Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew . ...

Whatever you've heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I'm not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that's Hermione and Andromeda, they -"

But he stopped quickly.

"Harry Potter is humble and modest," said Dobby reverently, his orb- like eyes aglow. "Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named -"

"Voldemort?" said Andromeda.

Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, "Ah, speak not the name, miss! Speak not the name!"

"Sorry" said Andromeda quickly. "I know lots of people don't like it. Our friend Ron -"

But she couldn't. Thinking about Ron was painful.

Dobby leaned toward Harry, his eyes wide as headlights.

'Dobby heard tell," he said hoarsely, "that Harry Potter and Andromeda Black met the Dark Lord just weeks ago ... that Harry Potter escaped yet again. "

Harry nodded and Dobby's eyes suddenly shone with tears.

"Ah, sir," he gasped, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. "Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect you, to warn you, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later... Harry Potter and Andromeda Black must not go back to Hogwarts."

There was a silence broken only by the chink of knives and forks from downstairs and the distant rumble of Uncle Vernon's voice.

"W-what?" Andromeda stammered. "But we've got to go back - term starts on September first. You don't know what it's like here. We don't belong here. We belong in your world - at Hogwarts."

"No, no, no," squeaked Dobby, shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. "Harry Potter and Andromeda Black must stay where they is safe. They is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter and Andromeda Black go back to Hogwarts, they will be in mortal danger."

"Why?" said Harry in surprise.

"Oh, not _again_ ," Andromeda said exasperatedly.

"There is a plot. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year," whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. "Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter and Andromeda Black must not put themselves in peril. They is too important, sir!"

"What terrible things?" said Harry at once. "Who's plotting them?"

Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall.

"All right!" cried Andromeda, grabbing the elf's arm to stop him. "You can't tell us. We understand. But why are you warning us?" A sudden, unpleasant thought struck him. "Hang on - this hasn't got anything to do with Vol- - sorry - with You-Know-Who, has it?

"You could just shake or nod," Harry added hastily as Dobby's head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.

Slowly, Dobby shook his head.

"Not -not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, miss -'

But Dobby's eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry and Andromeda, however, were completely lost.

"He hasn't got a brother, has he?" she said.

Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.

"Well then, I can't think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts," said Harry. "I mean, there's Dumbledore, for one thing - you know who Dumbledore is, don't you?"

Dobby bowed his head.

"Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows it, sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore's powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir" - Dobby's voice dropped to an urgent whisper - "there are powers Dumbledore doesn't ... powers no decent wizard. . ."

And before Andromeda or Harry could stop him, Dobby bounded off the bed, seized their desk lamp, and started beating himself around the head with ear-splitting yelps.

A sudden silence fell downstairs. Two seconds later Andromeda, heart thudding madly, heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall, calling, "Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!"

"Quick! In the closet!" hissed Harry, stuffing Dobby in, shutting the door, and flinging himself onto the bed just as the door handle turned. Andromeda picked her cat up and stood, stoking it.

"What - the - devil - are - you - doing?" said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth. "You've just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke ... One more sound and you two will wish you'd never been born!"

He stomped flat-footed from the room.

Shaking, Andromeda let Dobby out of the closet.

"See what it's like here?" she said. "See why we've got to go back to Hogwarts? It's the only place we've got -well, we think we've got friends. "

"Friends who don't even write to you?" said Dobby slyly.

"We expect they've just been - wait a minute," said Harry, frowning. "How do you know our friends haven't been writing to us?"

Dobby shuffled his feet.

"Harry Potter and Andromeda Black mustn't be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best - "

"Have you been stopping our letters?"

"Dobby has them here, sir," said the elf. Stepping nimbly out of their reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Andromeda could make out Hermione's neat writing, Ron's untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid. There was also a letter with a familiar scrawl. Her Uncle Moony.

Dobby blinked anxiously up at them.

"Harry Potter and Andromeda Black mustn't be angry... Dobby hoped ... if they thought their friends had forgotten the ... Harry Potter and Andromeda Black might not want to go back to school..."

Andromeda wasn't listening. She made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.

Harry tried, too, but the house-elf just jumped back farther.

"Harry Potter and Andromeda Black will have them, sir, miss, if they give Dobby their word that they will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won't go back!"

"No," said Harry angrily. "Give us our friends' letters!"

"Then you leave Dobby no choice," said the elf sadly.

Before Andromeda could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom door, pulled it open, and sprinted down the stairs.

Mouths dry, stomachs lurching, Harry and Andromeda sprang after him, trying not to make a sound. They jumped the last six steps, landing catlike on the hall carpet, looking around for Dobby. From the dining room he heard Uncle Vernon saying, "...tell Petunia that very funny story about those American plumbers, Mr. Mason. She's been dying to hear..."

They ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt their stomachs disappear.

Aunt Petunia's masterpiece of a pudding, the mountain of cream and sugared violets, was floating up near the ceiling. On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby.

"No," croaked Harry. "Please ... they'll kill us..."

"Harry Potter and Andromeda Black must say they're not going back to school -"

"Dobby ... please ..." Andromeda begged.

"Say it -"

"I can't -"

Dobby gave him a tragic look.

"Then Dobby must do it, sir, miss, for your own good."

The pudding fell to the floor with a heart-stopping crash. Cream splattered the windows and walls as the dish shattered. With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished.

There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen to find Harry and Andromeda, rigid with shock, covered from head to foot in Aunt Petunias pudding.

At first, it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss the whole thing over. ("Just our nephew and niece - very disturbed - meeting strangers upsets them, so we kept them upstairs) He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Harry and Andromeda he would flay them to within an inch of their lives when the Masons had left, and handed them mops. Aunt Petunia dug some ice cream out of the freezer and Harry and Andromeda, still shaking, started scrubbing the kitchen clean.

Uncle Vernon might still have been able to make his deal - if it hadn't been for the owl.

Aunt Petunia was just passing around a box of after-dinner mints when a huge barn owl swooped through the dining room window, dropped two letters on Mrs. Mason's head, and swooped out again. Mrs. Mason screamed like a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics. Mr. Mason stayed just long enough to tell the Dursleys that his wife was mortally afraid of birds of all shapes and sizes, and to ask whether this was their idea of a joke.

Harry and Andromeda stood in the kitchen, clutching the mops for support, as Uncle Vernon advanced on them, a demonic glint in his tiny eyes.

"Read them!" he hissed evilly, brandishing the letters the owl had delivered. "Go on - read it!"

Andromeda took hers, and Harry took his. It did not contain letters from friends.

 _Dear Miss. Black,_

 _We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine._

 _As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spellwork on your part may lead to expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C)._

 _We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy._

 _Enjoy your holidays! Yours sincerely,_

 _Mafalda Hopkirk_

 _IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE_

 _Ministry of Magic_

Andromeda looked up from the letter and gulped.

"You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic outside school," said Uncle Vernon, a mad gleam dancing in his eyes. "Forgot to mention it ... Slipped your mind, I daresay ...

He was bearing down on Harry and Andromeda like a great bulldog, all his teeth bared. "Well, I've got news for you... I'm locking you up ... You're never going back to that school ... never ... and if you try and magic yourselves out - they'll expel you!"

And laughing like a maniac, he dragged Harry and Andromeda back upstairs.

Uncle Vernon was as bad as his word. The following morning, he paid a man to fit bars on Harry and Andromeda's window. He himself fitted a cat- flap in the bedroom door, so that small amounts of food could be pushed inside three times a day. They let Harry and Andromeda out to use the bathroom morning and evening. Otherwise, they were locked in their room around the clock.

"There was a letter from Uncle Moony," Andromeda sniffled on the second day, her birthday. "What if he thinks I hate him?"

"He won't," Harry assured her. "Look, someone will find out and come and get us. Then we can explain everything to everyone."

"Why are we always in danger?" Andromeda pouted.

Harry just shrugged.

Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Andromeda couldn't see any way out of their situation. They lay on their bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on the window and wondered miserably what was going to happen to them.

What was the good of magicking themselves out of their room if Hogwarts would expel them for doing it? Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, they had lost their only weapon. Dobby might have saved Harry and Andromeda from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, they'd probably starve to death anyway.

The cat-flap rattled and Aunt Petunias hand appeared, pushing a bowl of canned soup into the room. Harry and Andromeda, whose insides were aching with hunger, jumped off their bed and seized it. The soup was stone-cold, but they drank half of it each in one gulp. Then Harry crossed the room to Hedwig's cage and tipped half of the soggy vegetables at the bottom of the bowl into her empty food tray and the other half in Midnight's cage. Hegwid ruffled her feathers and gave him a look of deep disgust.

"It's no good turning your beak up at it - that's all we've got," said Andromeda grimly.

She took the bowl from Harry and put the empty bowl back on the floor next to the cat-flap and lay back down on the bed, somehow even hungrier than she had been before the soup.

Supposing they were still alive in another four weeks, what would happen if they didn't turn up at Hogwarts? Would someone be sent to see why they hadn't come back? Would they be able to make the Dursleys let them go?

The room was growing dark. Exhausted, stomach rumbling, mind spinning over the same unanswerable questions, Harry and Andromeda fell into an uneasy sleep.

She woke suddenly to the sounds of rattling. She looked around. Moonlight was shining through the bars on the window. And someone was goggling through the bars at them: a freckle- faced, red-haired, long-nosed someone.

Ron Weasley was outside Harry and Andromeda's window.

"Stop it," Harry muttered as Andromeda tried shaking him awake. "Leave me alone ... cut it out, Andy ... I'm trying to sleep... ."

"Oh, wake up, you dolt," Andromeda said, shaking him even more until he woke up.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Burrow

**Chapter 3 - The Burrow**

"Ron," breathed Harry, as he and Andromeda crept to the window, pushing it up so they could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you - What the -?"

Andromeda's mouth fell open as the full impact of what she was seeing hit her. Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car, which was parked in midair Grinning at Harry and Andromeda from the front seats were Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers. And sitting next to Ron was no other than Noah Pettigrew and Dorcas Lupin.

"All right, 'Dromeda? And you Harry?" asked George.

"What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you been answering our letters? We've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dad came home and said you two had got an official warning for using magic in front of Muggles -"

"It wasn't us - and how did he know?" Andromeda asked.

"Their dad works for the Ministry," said Dorcas. "You know we're not supposed to do spells outside school -"

"You should talk," said Harry, staring at the floating car.

"Oh, this doesn't count," said Ron. "We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Muggles you live with -"

"We told you, we didn't - but it'll take too long to explain now look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me us and won't let us come back, and obviously we can't magic ourselves out, because the Ministry'Il think that's the second spell we've done in three days, so -"

"Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you home with us."

"But you can't magic me out either -"

"We don't need to," said Noah, jerking his head toward the front seat and grinning. "You forget who we've got with us."

"Tie that around the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a rope to Andromeda.

"If the Dursleys wake up, we're dead," said Harry as he helped tie the rope tightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car.

"Don't worry," said Fred, "and stand back."

Harry and Andromeda moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig, who seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent. The car revved louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, the bars were pulled clean out of the window as Fred drove straight up in the air. Andromeda ran back to the window to see the bars dangling a few feet above the ground. Panting, Ron and Noah hoisted them up into the car. Andromeda listened anxiously, but there was no sound from the Dursleys' bedroom.

When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reversed as close as possible to Harry and Andromeda's window.

"Get in," Dorcas said.

"But all our Hogwarts stuff - our wands - our broomsticks -"

"Where is it?"

"Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and we can't get out of this room -"

"No problem," said George from the front passenger seat. "Out of the way, you two."

Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into Harry and Andromeda's room. You had to hand it to them, thought Andromeda, as George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock.

"A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick," said Fred, "but we feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."

There was a small click and the door swung open.

"So - we'll get your trunk - you grab anything you need from your room and hand it out to the others," whispered George.

"Watch out for the bottom stair - it creaks," Harry whispered back as the twins disappeared onto the dark landing.

Harry and Andromeda dashed around their room, collecting their things and passing them out of the window to Ron, Noah and Dorcas. Then they went to help Fred and George heave their trunks up the stairs. Andromeda heard Uncle Vernon cough.

At last, panting, they reached the landing, then carried the trunk through Harry and Andromeda's room to the open window. Fred climbed back into the car to pull with the others, and Harry, Andromeda and George pushed from the bedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunks slid through the window.

Uncle Vernon coughed again.

"A bit more," panted Fred, who was pulling from inside the car. "One good push -"

Harry, Andromeda and George threw their shoulders against the trunk and it slid out of the window into the back seat of the car.

"Okay, let's go," George whispered.

But as Harry went to climb onto the windowsill there came a sudden loud screech from behind them, followed immediately by the thunder of Uncle Vernon's voice.

"THAT RUDDY OWL!"

"We've forgotten Hedwig and Midnight!"

Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on - he snatched up Hedwig's and Midnight's cages, dashed to the window, and passed them out to Ron. The two of them were scrambling onto the chest of drawers when Uncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door and it crashed open. Andromeda jumped out of the window and into the car.

For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; then he let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbing him by the ankle.

Ron, Andromeda, Noah, Dorcas, Fred, and George all seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard as they could.

"Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "They're getting away! THEY"RE GETTING AWAY!"

But they gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out of Uncle Vernon's grasp - Harry was in the car - he'd slammed the door shut.

"Put your foot down, Fred!" yelled Ron, and the car shot suddenly toward the moon.

Andromeda couldn't believe it - they were free. She rolled down the window, the night air whipping her hair, and looked back at the shrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley were all hanging, dumbstruck, out of Harry and Andromeda's window.

"See you next summer!" Andromeda yelled.

The Weasleys, Harry, Dorcas and Noah roared with laughter and Andromeda settled back in her seat, grinning from ear to ear.

"Let Hedwig out," Harry told Dorcas. "She can fly behind us. She hasn't had a chance to stretch her wings for ages."

George handed the hairpin to Ron and, a moment later, Hedwig soared joyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost.

"So - what's the story?" said Ron impatiently. "What's been happening?"

Harry and Andromeda told them all about Dobby, the warning he'd given them and the fiasco of the violet pudding. There was a long, shocked silence when they had finished.

"Very fishy," said Fred finally.

"Definitely dodgy" agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?"

"I don't think he could," said Harry. "I told you, every time he got close to letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall."

He saw Fred and George look at each other.

"What, you think he was lying to us?" said Andromeda.

"Well," said Fred, "put it this way - house-elves have got powerful magic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"

"Yes," said Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron together, instantly.

"Draco Malfoy," Harry explained. "He hates us."

"Draco Malfoy?" said George, turning around. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"

"Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" said Harry.

"I've heard Dad talking about him," said George. "He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."

"And when You-Know-Who disappeared," said Fred, craning around to look at Harry and Andromeda, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung - Dad reckons he was right in You- Know-Who's inner circle."

Andromeda had heard these rumours about Malfoy's family before, and they didn't surprise her at all. Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look like a kind, thoughtful, and sensitive boy.

"I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-elf said Harry.

"Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'll be rich," said Fred. "So considering the Malfoys are an old family, and even Lucius Malfoy's wife was from an old family."

"Who is Lucius Malfoy's wife?" Andromeda asked.

The Weasleys looked at each other. "Well, we don't know her personally or anything," said George, "but see her sister is this witch. She's in Azkaban, now, the sister, that is. Oh, what was her name, Fred?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange, wasn't it?" Fred said.

Andromeda gulped and looked down at her hands. She knew that woman. Bellatrix Lestrange is her father's cousin. When Andromeda was three, Bellatrix had used the Cruciatus Curse on her. The Cruciatus Curse was a horrible spell used for torture. Every so often Andromeda has nightmares about what happened and wakes up feeling the pain of the spell all over again.

"You look like you know her, 'Dromeda" Ron said.

Andromeda glanced at Dorcas, Noah and Harry. They were the only one of her friends that knew about what happened to her, but what they didn't know was that Andromeda knew the name of the woman.

"Uh, no," Andromeda lied. "Not at all."

"Oh," Fred said. "Well, see, she used to be right in with You-Know-Who. She wasn't caught till a few years after he disappeared, though."

"Yeah," George said. "Dad used to tell us. She and her husband were arrested. Apparently after You-Know-Who went, they went looking for him. Tortured everyone they thought would know about it. Went on for a couple years. But their family was rich, too. Even her family probably had a house-elf."

"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing," said George. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house... ."

Andromeda was silent. So she was related to more than just two murderers, but a whole family of them. The thought of being related to Draco Malfoy made her shudder.

What didn't improve her mood was that she did care about her family. She was prideful, she stood up for her father sometimes, even though he is a mass murderer. She stood up for Dorcas and Uncle Moony, although Dorcas doesn't know that she is actually Andromeda's cousin. She knew now that insulting Malfoy's family, was insulting her own and she didn't want to know what people would think if she suddenly started standing up for the Malfoys. She didn't want to know what people would think if she started caring about them.

"I'm glad we came to get you, anyway," said Ron. "I was getting really worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought it was Errol's fault at first -"

"Who's Errol?" Harry asked.

"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes -"

"Who?" Andromeda said.

"The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect," said Fred from the front.

"But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him."

"Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George, frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending a load of time shut up in his room ... I mean, there's only so many times you can polish a prefect badge... You're driving too far west, Fred," he added, pointing at a compass on the dashboard. Fred twiddled the steering wheel.

"So, does your dad know you've got the car?" said Harry, guessing the answer.

"Er, no," said Ron, "he had to work tonight. Hopefully we'll be able to get it back in the garage without Mum noticing we flew it."

"What does your dad do at the Ministry of Magic, anyway?"

"He works in the most boring department," said Ron. "The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office."

"The what?"

"It's all to do with bewitching things that are Muggle-made, you know, in case they end up back in a Muggle shop or house," Dorcas explained.

"Like, last year, some old witch died and her tea set was sold to an antiques shop," Ron said. "This Muggle woman bought it, took it home, and tried to serve her friends tea in it. It was a nightmare - Dad was working overtime for weeks."

"What happened?" Noah asked.

"The teapot went berserk and squirted boiling tea all over the place and one man ended up in the hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose. Dad was going frantic - it's only him and an old warlock called Perkins in the office -and they had to do Memory Charms and all sorts of stuff to cover it up -"

"But your dad - this car -"

Fred laughed. "Yeah, Dad's crazy about everything to do with Muggles; our shed's full of Muggle stuff. He takes it apart, puts spells on it, and puts it back together again. If he raided our house he'd have to put himself under arrest. It drives Mum mad."

"That's the main road," said George, peering down through the windshield. "We'll be there in ten minutes ... Just as well, it's getting light... ."

A faint pinkish glow was visible along the horizon to the east.

Fred brought the car lower, and Andromeda saw a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of trees.

"We're a little way outside the village," said George. "Ottery St. Catchpole."

Lower and lower went the flying car. The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees.

"Touchdown!" said Fred as, with a slight bump, they hit the ground. They had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard, and Andromeda looked out for the first time at Ron's house.

It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic (which, Andromeda reminded herself, it probably was). Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, _THE BURROW_. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.

"It's not much," said Ron.

"It's wonderful," said Andromeda happily, thinking of Privet Drive.

They got out of the car.

"Now, we'll go upstairs really quietly," said Fred, "and wait for Mum to call us for breakfast Then, Ron, you come bounding downstairs going, `Mum, look who turned up in the night!' and she'll be all pleased to see Harry and Andromeda and no one need ever know we flew the car."

"Right," said Ron. "Come on, I sleep at the - at the top."

Ron had gone a nasty greenish colour, his eyes fixed on the house. The other five wheeled around.

Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens, and for a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a sabre-toothed tiger.

"Ah, "said Fred.

"Oh, dear," said George.

Mrs. Weasley came to a halt in front of them, her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty face to the next. She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket.

"So, "she said.

"Morning, Mum," said George, in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.

"Have you any idea how worried I've been?" said Mrs. Weasley in a deadly whisper.

"Sorry, Mum, but see, we had to -"

All three of Mrs. Weasley's sons were taller than she was, but they cowered as her rage broke over them.

"Beds empty! No note! Car gone - could have crashed - out of my mind with worry, I owled your father -" she said this to Dorcas and Noah, who looked at their feet "- did any of you care? - never, as long as I've lived - you wait until your father gets home, we never had trouble like this from Bill or Charlie or Percy -"

"Perfect Percy," muttered Fred.

"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job -"

It seemed to go on for hours. Mrs. Weasley had shouted herself hoarse before she turned on Harry and Andromeda, who backed away.

"I'm very pleased to see you, Harry, Andromeda, dears," she said. "Come in and have some breakfast."

She turned and walked back into the house and Harry and Andromeda, after a nervous glance at Ron, Dorcas and Noah, who all nodded encouragingly, followed her.

The kitchen was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle, and Harry and Andromeda sat down on the edge of their seats, looking around. They had never been in a wizard house before.

The clock on the wall opposite them had only one hand and no numbers at all. Written around the edge were things like Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and You're late. Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts - It's Magic! And unless Andromeda's ears were deceiving her, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was "Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck."

Mrs. Weasley was clattering around, cooking breakfast a little haphazardly, throwing dirty looks at her sons as she threw sausages into the frying pan. Every now and then she muttered things like "don't know what you were thinking of," and "never would have believed it."

"I don't blame you, dears," she assured Harry and Andromeda, tipping eight or nine sausages onto their plates. "Arthur and I have been worried about you, too. Just last night we were saying we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written back to Ron by Friday. But really," (she was now adding three fried eggs to their plates) "flying an illegal car halfway across the country - anyone could have seen you -"

She flicked her wand casually at the dishes in the sink, which began to clean themselves, clinking gently in the background.

"It was cloudy, Mum!" said Fred.

"You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"They were starving him, Mum!" said George.

"And you!" said Mrs. Weasley, but it was with a slightly softened expression that she started cutting Harry bread and buttering it for him.

At that moment there was a diversion in the form of a small, redheaded figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.

"Ginny," said Ron in an undertone to Harry. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."

Andromeda snorted and Harry elbowed her. She remembered last time she saw Ginny, she was ever so eager to see Harry.

"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry," Fred said with a grin, but he caught his mother's eye and bent his face over his plate without another word. Nothing more was said until all four plates were clean, which took a surprisingly short time.

"Blimey, I'm tired," yawned Fred, setting down his knife and fork at last. "I think I'll go to bed and -"

"You will not," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "It's your own fault you've been up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me; they're getting completely out of hand again -"

"Oh, Mum -"

"And you two," she said, glaring at Ron and Fred. "You can go up to bed, dears," she added to Harry and Andromeda. "You didn't ask them to fly that wretched car -"

But Andromeda, who felt wide awake, said quickly, "We'll help Ron. I've never seen a de-gnoming -"

"That's very sweet of you, dear, but it's dull work," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject -"

And she pulled a heavy book from the stack on the mantelpiece. George groaned.

"Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden -"

Andromeda looked at the cover of Mrs. Weasley's book. Written across it in fancy gold letters were the words Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests. There was a big photograph on the front of a very good-looking wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. As always in the wizarding world, the photograph was moving; the wizard, who Andromeda supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart, kept winking cheekily up at them all. Mrs. Weasley beamed down at him.

"He isn't really all that great," Noah whispered to her.

"I reckon he's a fraud," Dorcas muttered, leaning across the table towards Andromeda.

"Oh, he is marvellous," she said. "He knows his household pests, all right, it's a wonderful book... ."

"Mum fancies him," said Fred, in a very audible whisper.

"Don't be so ridiculous, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley, her cheeks rather pink. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, you can go and get on with it, and woe betide you if there's a single gnome in that garden when I come out to inspect it."

Yawning and grumbling, the Weasleys slouched outside with Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas and Noah behind them. The garden was large, and in Andromeda's eyes, exactly what a garden should be. The Dursleys wouldn't have liked it - there were plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting but there were gnarled trees all around the walls, plants Andromeda had never seen spilling from every flower bed, and a big green pond full of frogs.

"Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron they crossed the lawn. "Andy once broke one of Aunt Petunia's."

"Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bent double with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods... ."

There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up. "This is a gnome," he said grimly.

"Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" squealed the gnome.

It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet; he grasped it around the ankles and turned it upside down.

"This is what you have to do," he said. He raised the gnome above his head ("Gerroff me!") and started to swing it in great circles like a lasso.

Seeing the shocked look on Andromeda's face, Dorcas added, "It doesn't hurt them - you've just got to make them really dizzy so they can't find their way back to the gnomeholes."

Ron let go of the gnome's ankles: It flew twenty feet into the air and landed with a thud in the field over the hedge.

"Pitiful," said Fred. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."

Andromeda learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes. Harry decided just to drop the first one he caught over the hedge, but the gnome, sensing weakness, sank its razor-sharp teeth into Harry's finger and he had a hard job shaking it off - until

"Wow, Harry - that must've been fifty feet ...

The air was soon thick with flying gnomes.

"See, they're not too bright," said George, seizing five or six gnomes at once. "The moment they know the de-gnoming's going on they storm up to have a look. You'd think they'd have learned by now just to stay put."

They made a competition over who could get their gnome the furthest away. Andromeda was in the lead with Fred right behind her. Noah, who spent more time swearing at the gnomes than throwing them only got the gnomes just over the hedge.

Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a straggling line, their little shoulders hunched.

"They'll be back," said Ron as they watched the gnomes disappear into the hedge on the other side of the field. "They love it here ... Dad's too soft with them; he thinks they're funny... ."

Just then, the front door slammed.

"He's back!" said George. "Dad's home!"

They hurried through the garden and back into the house.

Mr. Weasley was slumped in a kitchen chair with his glasses off and his eyes closed. He was a thin man, going bald, but the little hair he had was as red as any of his children's. He was wearing long green robes, which were dusty and travel-worn.

"What a night," he mumbled, groping for the teapot as they all sat down around him. "Nine raids. Nine! And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to put a hex on me when I had my back turned..."

Mr. Weasley took a long gulp of tea and sighed.

"Find anything, Dad?" said Fred eagerly.

"All I got were a few shrinking door keys and a biting kettle," yawned Mr. Weasley. "There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, though. Mortlake was taken away for questioning about some extremely odd ferrets, but that's the Committee on Experimental Charms, thank goodness ...

"Why would anyone bother making door keys shrink?" said Noah.

"Just Muggle-baiting," sighed Mr. Weasley. "Sell them a key that keeps shrinking to nothing so they can never find it when they need it ... Of course, it's very hard to convict anyone because no Muggle would admit their key keeps shrinking - they'll insist they just keep losing it. Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face ... But the things our lot have taken to enchanting, you wouldn't believe -"

"LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?"

Mrs. Weasley had appeared, holding a long poker like a sword. Mr. Weasley's eyes jerked open. He stared guiltily at his wife.

"C-cars, Molly, dear?"

"Yes, Arthur, cars," said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes flashing. "Imagine a wizard buying a rusty old car and telling his wife all he wanted to do with it was take it apart to see how it worked, while really he was enchanting it to make it fly."

Mr. Weasley blinked.

"Well, dear, I think you'll find that he would be quite within the law to do that, even if - er - he maybe would have done better to, um, tell his wife the truth ... There's a loophole in the law, you'll find ... As long as he wasn't intending to fly the car, the fact that the car could fly wouldn't -"

"Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when you wrote that law!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Just so you could carry on tinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for your information, Harry and Andromeda arrived this morning in the car you weren't intending to fly!"

"Harry? Andromeda?" said Mr. Weasley blankly. "Harry and Andromeda who?"

He looked around, saw Harry, and jumped.

"Good lord, is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told us so much about -"

"Your sons flew that car to Harry and Andromeda's house and back last night," shouted Mrs. Weasley. "What have you got to say about that, eh?"

"Did you really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Did it go all right? I - I mean," he faltered as sparks flew from Mrs. Weasley's eyes, "that - that was very wrong, boys - very wrong indeed..."

"Let's leave them to it," Ron muttered to Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas and Noah as Mrs. Weasley swelled like a bullfrog. "Come on, I'll show you two my bedroom."

They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase, which wound its way, zigzagging up through the house. On the third landing, a door stood ajar. Andromeda just caught sight of a pair of bright brown eyes staring at Harry before it closed with a snap.

"Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally -"

They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying RONALD'S ROOM.

Harry and Andromeda stepped in, his head almost touching the sloping ceiling, and blinked. It was like walking into a furnace: nearly everything in Ron's room seemed to be a violent shade of orange: the bedspread, the walls, even the ceiling. Then Andromeda realized that Ron had covered nearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the same seven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carrying broomsticks, and waving energetically.

"Your Quidditch team?" said Andromeda.

"The Chudley Cannons," said Ron, pointing at the orange bedspread, which was emblazoned with two giant black C's and a speeding cannonball. "Ninth in the league."

Ron's school spellbooks were stacked untidily in a corner, next to a pile of comics that all seemed to feature The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand was lying on top of a fish tank full of frog spawn on the windowsill, next to his fat gray rat, Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun.

Andromeda stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking one by one back through the Weasleys' hedge. Then she turned to look at Ron, who was watching her and Harry almost nervously, as though waiting for his opinion.

"It's a bit small," said Ron quickly. "Not like that room you had with the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic; he's always banging on the pipes and groaning..."

Harry, grinning widely, said, "This is the best house I've ever been in." Ron's ears went pink.

The four of them hung out in Ron's bedroom, catching up on what everyone did on the holidays.

Mrs Weasley apparently had owled Remus because when she called them down for lunch, he was sitting at the table drinking tea. He looked older than the last time she saw him, which was not unusual. Remus was a werewolf and the full moon wore him out quite a bit.

"Dad!" Dorcas said at the said time Noah shouted, "Remus!"

They two of them ran over to the tired man and engulfed him in a group hug.

When they let go of him and stepped back, he turned towards Andromeda smiled broadly.

Andromeda wished she could rush over and hug him, tell him that she missed him and call him 'Uncle Moony', but she couldn't. Dorcas didn't know that Remus was Andromeda's uncle or that she, herself was Andromeda's cousin. It was bad enough during Hogwarts when Remus showed up or sent Andromeda letters along with Dorcas and Noah letters. Both Dorcas and Noah were confused every time a letter for Andromeda came from Remus, were confused when Remus showed up for Andromeda's first Quidditch match, and even more befuddled when he showed up at the end of last year after Andromeda and Harry met Voldemort. The two of them never spoke to Andromeda about it, never brought the subject up and never asked her why and how she knew Remus. Harry knew, of course, he had even met Remus before their first match, but he was the only one.

Andromeda and Remus had not told Dorcas the news yet. Andromeda liked being Dorcas' best friend. And for the moment she wanted to be her best friend, not her cousin.

"Alright there, you two?" Remus said to Andromeda and Harry.

"Absolutely spiffing, I'd say," Andromeda said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Right. Well, I've come to take these two home," Remus said, motioning to Dorcas and Noah. He then turned to Mrs Weasley. "We should meet up for school shopping so the kids can see each other again before school."


	4. Chapter 4 - At Flourish and Blotts

**Chapter 4 - At Flourish and Blotts**

Life at the Burrow was as different as possible from life on Privet Drive. The Dursleys liked everything neat and ordered; the Weasleys' house burst with the strange and unexpected. Andromeda got a shock the first time she looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantelpiece and it shouted, "Tuck your shirt in, scruffy!" The ghoul in the attic howled and dropped pipes whenever he felt things were getting too quiet, and small explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were considered perfectly normal. What Andromeda found most unusual about life at Ron's, however, wasn't the talking mirror or the clanking ghoul: It was the fact that everybody there seemed to like her and Harry.

Mrs. Weasley fussed over the state of their socks and tried to force them to eat fourth helpings at every meal. Mr. Weasley liked Harry and Andromeda to sit next to him at the dinner table so that he could bombard them with questions about life with Muggles, asking him to explain how things like plugs and the postal service worked.

"Fascinating." he would say as they talked him through using a telephone. "Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic."

Harry and Andromeda heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning about a week after they had arrived at the Burrow. They went down to breakfast to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already sitting at the kitchen table. The moment she saw Harry, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter. Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room. She dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like the setting sun.

Andromeda had to share a room with Ginny during her stay at the Burrow. It was odd sharing a room with someone so fascinated by her best friend, but she answered questions about Harry and told embarrassing stories.

"Letters from school," said Mr. Weasley, passing Harry, Andromeda and Ron identical envelopes of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry, Andromeda - doesn't miss a trick, that man. You two've got them, too," he added, as Fred and George ambled in, still in their pyjamas.

For a few minutes there was silence as they all read their letters. Andromeda's told her to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross station on September first. There was also a list of the new books she'd need for the coming year.

 _SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:_

 _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_

 _by Miranda Goshawk_

 _Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart_

 _Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart_

Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Andromeda's.

"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan - bet it's a witch."

At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.

"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive ...

"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things second-hand."

"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.

She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish. Fortunately no one saw this except Harry and Andromeda, because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest.

"Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."

He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a moulting, gray feather duster - at least, that was what Andromeda thought it was, until she saw that it was breathing.

"Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally - he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you two from the Dursleys."

He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron lay him on the draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic." Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud:

 _"`Dear Ron, and Harry and Andromeda, too, if you're there,_

 _"`I hope everything went all right and that Harry and Andromeda are okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry and Andromeda into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry and Andromeda are all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off._

 _"'I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course'-_ How can she be?" said Ron in horror _._ "We're on vacation! - _'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley? I already owled Dorcas and Noah and they said they can make it._

 _"`Let me know what's happening as soon as you can. Love from Hermione. "'_

"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs. Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're you all up to today?"

Harry, Andromeda, Ron, Fred, and George were planning to go up the hill to a small paddock the Weasleys owned. It was surrounded by trees that blocked it from view of the village below, meaning that they could practice Quidditch there, as long as they didn't fly too high.

They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been hard to explain if they had escaped and flown away over the village; instead they threw apples for one another to catch. They took turns riding Harry's and Andromeda's Nimbus Two Thousands, which were easily the best brooms; Ron's old Shooting Star was often outstripped by passing butterflies.

Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks over their shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy. Andromeda had only seen Percy at mealtimes so far; he stayed shut in his room the rest of the time.

"Wish I knew what he was up to," said Fred, frowning. "He's not himself. His exam results came the day before you did; twelve O.W.L.s and he hardly gloated at all."

"Ordinary Wizarding Levels," George explained, seeing Harry's and Andromeda's puzzled looks. "Bill got twelve, too. If we're not careful, we'll have another Head Boy in the family. I don't think I could stand the shame."

Bill was the oldest Weasley brother. He and the next brother, Charlie, had already left Hogwarts. Andromeda had never met either of them, but knew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons and Bill in Egypt working for the wizard's bank, Gringotts.

"Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year," said George after a while. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs robes and a wand and everything..."

"I could buy them," Andromeda offered.

"All of them?" Fred asked incredulously. "How rich are you?"

"I don't know. I have a high-security vault and it's filled with gold so..."

The Weasleys looked at her enviously. "Mum wouldn't let you, you know."

"Honestly," Andromeda said. "I'll give you half of it if you asked."

Now she felt a bit awkward. Stored in an underground vault at Gringotts in London was a big fortune that her parents had left her, piles of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts and piles of gold objects. Of course, it was only in the wizarding world that she had money; you couldn't use Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts in Muggle shops. Harry had a vault, too, though not as big, bust still a fortune. Her and Harry had never mentioned their Gringotts bank accounts to the Dursleys; they didn't think their horror of anything connected with magic would stretch to a large pile of gold.

On the following Monday night, checking Ginny's calendar, she gulped down a potion. Up until last year, Andromeda had gotten sick every month around the full moon since as long as she could remember. In secret, Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, had given her Wolfsbane potion and it had worked wonders. It made her feel less sick (though still very sick) and had stopped her autonomous changing into a dog on the full moon (though she could willingly change whenever she wished to and could still control her actions on the full moon unlike real werewolves). She had to drink this potion every night of the week leading up to the full moon and no one but Madam Pomfrey, Harry and Remus, knew about the potion. Harry had only found out because Madam Pomfrey had given Andromeda enough doses before the end of term for her holidays and had seen her drink it during the holidays.

See, Andromeda's mother was a werewolf just like Remus, and her father was an animagus (a witch or wizard who could transform into a certain animal whenever they wanted). This had somehow mixed in disastrously with Andromeda so she could change into a large black dog like her father, but was affected by the full moon like her mother.

Dorcas, whose father was Remus, also becomes sick around the full moon although unfortunately the Wolfsbane potion doesn't work for her.

Throughout the day, all of the Weasleys mentioned how sickly Andromeda looked. Mrs Weasley, who knew some handy potions to fix up a nasty flu or cold and some other sicknesses, was very confused when Andromeda's sickness didn't cease after taking the potions. Neither Harry nor Andromeda bothered telling Mrs Weasley that her potions wouldn't work.

Mrs. Weasley woke them all early on the Wednesday, Andromeda even more ill than the day before. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats, Andromeda throwing a backpack on that contained more than enough money for her school shopping from her trip to Diagon Alley last year, and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.

"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today... Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry, Andromeda, dears!"

And she offered them the flowerpot.

Harry and Andromeda stared at them all watching the two.

"W-what are we supposed to do?" Harry stammered.

"They've never travelled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, guys, I forgot."

"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"We went on the Underground -"

"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators? How exactly -"

"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before -"

"They'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, 'Dromeda, watch us first."

He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.

With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.

"You must speak clearly, dears," Mrs. Weasley told Harry and Andromeda as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate..."

"The right what?" said Andromeda nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, too.

"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly -"

"They'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself to Floo powder, too.

"But, dear, if they got lost, how would we ever explain to their aunt and uncle?"

"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that -"

"They'd probably throw a parade," Andromeda said.

"Well ... all right ... you two go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going

"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.

"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot -"

"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace -"

"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George. Go on, you can go together."

"You're saying it, I'll chuck the powder," Andromeda said. Harry nodded and held out his hand.

Taking it, she ignored Ginny's envious stares, trying hard to remember what she was told, Andromeda took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire with Harry. She took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward

"D-Dia-gon Alley," Harry coughed.

It felt as though she was being sucked down a giant drain. She seemed to be spinning very fast - the roaring in her ears was deafening -she tried to keep her eyes open but the whirl of green flames made her feel even more sick than she already was - something hard knocked her elbow and she tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning, gripping tightly onto Harry's hand - now it felt as though cold hands were slapping her face – squinting, she saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond - her bacon sandwiches were churning inside her - she closed her eyes again wishing it would stop, and then -

They fell, face forward, onto cold stone and Andromeda heard the snap of Harry's glasses.

Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, they got gingerly to their feet, Harry holding his broken glasses up to his eyes. They were thankfully alone, but where they were, they had no idea. All they could tell was that they were standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop - but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.

A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a bloodstained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. Even worse, the dark, narrow street Andromeda could see through the dusty shop window was definitely not Diagon Alley.

The sooner they got out of here, the better. They made their way swiftly and silently toward the door, but before they'd got halfway toward it, two people appeared on the other side of the glass - and one of them was the very last person Andromeda wanted to meet when she was lost and covered in soot: Draco Malfoy.

Harry pulled her towards a large black cabinet to their left; they shot inside it and pulled the doors closed, leaving a small crack to peer through. Seconds later, a bell clanged, and Malfoy stepped into the shop.

The man who followed could only be Draco's father. He had the same pale, pointed face and identical cold, gray eyes. Lucius Malfoy crossed the shop, looking lazily at the items on display, and rang a bell on the counter before turning to his son and saying, "Touch nothing, Draco."

Malfoy, who had reached for the glass eye, said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."

"I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming his fingers on the counter.

"What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" said Malfoy, looking sulky and bad-tempered. "Harry Potter and Andromeda Black got Nimbus Two Thousands last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so they could play for Gryffindor. They're not even that good, it's just because Potter's famous ... famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead... And everyone only knows Black because her father... It isn't fair."

Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls.

"...Everyone thinks they're so smart, wonderful Potter and Black with his scar and their broomsticks -"

"You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. "And I would remind you that it is not - prudent - to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear - ah, Mr. Borgin."

A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face.

"Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr. Borgin in a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted - and young Master Malfoy, too - charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced -"

"I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling," said Mr. Malfoy.

"Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr. Borgin's face.

"You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting more raids," said Mr. Malfoy, taking a roll of parchment from his inside pocket and unravelling it for Mr. Borgin to read. "I have a few - ah - items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call ..."

Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.

"The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?"

Mr. Malfoy's lip curled.

"I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. There are rumours about a new Muggle Protection Act - no doubt that flea- bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it

Andromeda felt a hot surge of anger.

"- and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear -"

"I understand, sir, of course," said Mr. Borgin. "Let me see. . ."

"Can I have that?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion.

"Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste, sir."

"I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, "No offense, sir, no offense meant -"

"Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly still, "that may indeed be all he is fit for -"

"It's not my fault," retorted Draco. "The teachers all have favourites, that Andromeda Black and Hermione Granger -"

"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam, as well as another girl who grew up in a Muggle family, too," snapped Mr. Malfoy.

"Ha!" said Harry under his breath, and Andromeda smirked.

"It's the same all over," said Mr. Borgin, in his oily voice. "Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere -"

"Not with me," said Mr. Malfoy, his long nostrils flaring.

"No, sir, nor with me, sir," said Mr. Borgin, with a deep bow.

"In that case, perhaps we can return to my list," said Mr. Malfoy shortly. "I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today -"

They started to haggle. Andromeda watched nervously as Draco drew nearer and nearer to their hiding place, examining the objects for sale. Gripping Harry's hand hard, she watched as Draco paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read, smirking, the card propped on a magnificent necklace of opals, Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed - Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date.

Draco turned away and saw the cabinet right in front of him. He walked forward - he stretched out his hand for the handle

"Done," said Mr. Malfoy at the counter. "Come, Draco -"

"Good day to you, Mr. Borgin. I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow to pick up the goods."

The moment the door had closed, Mr. Borgin dropped his oily manner.

"Good day yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manor..."

Muttering darkly, Mr. Borgin disappeared into a back room. Harry and Andromeda waited for a minute in case he came back, then, quietly as they could, slipped out of the cabinet, past the glass cases, and out of the shop door.

Clutching his broken glasses to his face with one hand and holding Andromeda's hand with the other, Harry stared around. They had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. The one they'd just left, Borgin and Burkes, looked like the largest, but opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders. Two shabby-looking wizards were watching him from the shadow of a doorway, muttering to each other. Feeling jumpy, Andromeda and Harry set off, hoping against hope they'd be able to find a way out of here.

An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles told him he was in Knockturn Alley. This didn't help, as neither Harry nor Andromeda had never heard of such a place.

"Not lost are you, my dears?" said a voice in their ears, making them jump.

An aged witch stood in front of them, holding a tray of what looked horribly like whole human fingernails. She leered at them, showing mossy teeth. Andromeda backed away, pulling Harry with her.

"We're fine, thanks," he said. "We're just -"

"HARRY! 'DROMEDA! What d'yeh think you two're doin' down there?"

Andromeda's heart leapt. So did the witch; a load of fingernails cascaded down over her feet and she cursed as the massive form of Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, came striding toward them, beetle-black eyes flashing over his great bristling beard.

"Hagrid!" Harry croaked in relief. "We were lost - Floo powder -"

Hagrid seized Harry and Andromeda by the scruffs of the necks and pulled them away from the witch, knocking the tray right out of her hands. Her shrieks followed them all the way along the twisting alleyway out into bright sunlight. Andromeda saw a familiar, snow-white marble building in the distance - Gringotts Bank. Hagrid had steered them right into Diagon Alley.

"You two are a mess!" said Hagrid gruffly, brushing soot off Andromeda so forcefully he nearly knocked her into a barrel of dragon dung outside an apothecary. "Skulkin' around Knockturn Alley, I dunno dodgy place - don' want no one ter see yeh down there -"

"We realized that," said Andromeda, ducking as Hagrid made to brush her off again. "We told you, we were lost - what were you doing down there, anyway?"

"I was lookin' fer a Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent," growled Hagrid. "They're ruinin' the school cabbages. Yer not on yer own, are yer?"

"We're staying with the Weasleys but we got separated," Harry explained. "We've got to go and find them... ."

They set off down the street.

"How come yeh never wrote back ter me?" said Hagrid as Harry and Andromeda jogged alongside him (they had to take three steps to every stride of Hagrid's enormous boots). They explained all about Dobby and the Dursleys.

"Lousy Muggles," growled Hagrid. "If I'd've known -"

"Harry! 'Dromeda! Over here!"

Andromeda looked up and saw Hermione Granger, Dorcas, Noah and Remus standing at the top of the white flight of steps to Gringotts. Hermione ran down to meet them, her bushy brown hair flying behind her, Dorcas, Noah and Remus at her heels.

"What happened to your glasses? Hello, Hagrid - Oh, it's wonderful to see you three again - Are you coming into Gringotts?"

"As soon as we've found the Weasleys," said Andromeda.

"Yeh won't have long ter wait," Hagrid said with a grin.

They all looked around: Sprinting up the crowded street were Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. Weasley.

"Harry," Mr. Weasley panted. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far." He mopped his glistening bald patch. "Molly's frantic - she's coming now -"

"Where did you come out?" Ron asked.

"Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly.

"No way!" Dorcas and Noah exclaimed.

"Excellent." said Fred and George together.

"We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.

"I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid. Mrs. Weasley now came galloping into view, her handbag swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging onto the other. "Oh, Harry, Andromeda - oh, my dears - you could have been anywhere -" Gasping for breath she pulled a large clothes brush out of her bag and began sweeping off the soot Hagrid hadn't managed to beat away. Mr. Weasley took Harry's glasses, gave them a tap of his wand, and returned them, good as new.

"Well, gotta be off," said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!"). "See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.

"Guess who we saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."

"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharply behind them.

"No, he was selling -' "So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction.

"Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something..."

"You be careful, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew -"

"They're not all bad!" Andromeda blurted out before she could stop herself. Remus put a hand on her shoulder as everyone stared at her suspiciously. "What? Just because there are some people in that family that murder and torture people and act bad or pompous, doesn't make them all like that -"

"'Meda, not now," Remus whispered in her ear. She shut up immediately, looking at the floor.

When she looked up, everyone was still staring at her in silence. Harry, whose hand she was still holding, squeezed it gently and when she looked at him, he gave her a questioning look. She shook her head at him and before anyone could speak, they were distracted by the sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.

"But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand.

"Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione, Dorcas, Noah and Andromeda as the Weasleys and Harry were led off to their underground vaults by another Gringotts goblin.

Remus nudged Andromeda and gestured to talk to her away from everyone. Dorcas and Noah turned to follow them, but Remus shook his head, so they stopped and just stared, confusion plastered on their faces.

"I see you've found out about the Malfoys being related to you," Remus said.

"Fred and George mentioned that they came from an old family and then went on about Lucius Malfoy's wife being Bellatrix's sister."

"Ah, well then, you should know that not many people stand up for the family," Remus said.

"I know," Andromeda said, sighing. "It's just that they are just as much my family as you and Dorcas are. If someone insults the Malfoy's it's fine, but insulting the whole of their family isn't right, especially when there could be good people in it. It's like hating a whole race because of a few bad people and completely over-looking the good people."

"You're right, you know."

"I am?"

"Did you know that Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange have another sister? No? I didn't think you would. Her name is Andromeda Tonks. You were named after her."

"Why was I named after her?" Andromeda asked.

Remus smiled slightly. "She was your father's favourite cousin. She married a muggleborn and she was kind to Sirius when his whole family was against him. He was the first Black to be sorted into Gryffindor and he married and had a child with a werewolf and the Black family didn't take kindly to half-breeds and muggleborns. Both he and Andromeda were disowned.

"So you are right in saying that the whole of your family is not bad."

"I wish I could meet them," Andromeda said.

"I could probably be able to get a hold of Andromeda and ask her if she would like to meet you."

"That would be amazing!" Andromeda exclaimed. "Thank you, Uncle Moony!"

Remus smiled at her. "It's nothing, really."

"She is still nice, isn't she?" Andromeda asked. "Dad's cousin. Andromeda."

"I should imagine so," said Remus. "I haven't talked to her since your father was arrested. I know that her daughter is an Auror and a metamorphmagus, like you."

"Do you think they'd like me?"

"What's not to like?"`

Back on the marble steps after the Weasleys and Harry had returned, they all separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill. Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were going to a second-hand robe shop. Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink, to which Remus agreed to tag along when invited.

"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins' retreating backs.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled street. Harry he bought six large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, which they all slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows. Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes in the windows of Quality Quidditch Supplies until Hermione and Dorcas dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door. In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks, and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power. `A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers, " Noah read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds fascinating... ."

"Go away," Percy snapped.

"'Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out ... He wants to be Minister of Magic..." Ron told them in an undertone as they left Percy to it. An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. They were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:

 _GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his autobiography MAGICAL ME today 12:30 P.m. to 4:30 P.m._

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"

"I'd rather not," Andromeda said.

The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies ... Don't push, there ... mind the books, now... . "

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute ...

Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.

A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.

"Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet -"

"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.

Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"

The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys.

"Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."

He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography -which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge-" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny, Dorcas, Noah and Andromeda were standing next to Ginny's new cauldron.

"You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own -"

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Andromeda had no trouble recognizing. She turned and found herself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.

"Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.

"Malfoy, you'd think with a face like that, you'd want to avoid drawing attention to yourself. I guess you're just jealous everyone here wants to see Harry's face and not yours," Andromeda said.

"Oh, and you're definitely among the ones that want to see his face, huh?" Malfoy sneered and Andromeda blushed. "Oh and you're blushing! Bet you wouldn't mind Potter wanting to see your face. Are you at least going to make your face not look like something horrible?"

"Leave her alone, Malfoy," Harry said angrily, standing in between Malfoy and Andromeda as her hair started turning a fiery red. He squeezed her hand and she calmed down.

"Defending your girlfriend, Potter?" drawled Malfoy as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.

"Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."

Ron went as red as his hair. He dropped his books into Ginny's cauldron, too, and started toward Malfoy, but Dorcas and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.

"Ron!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley."

It was Lucius. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids ... I hope they're paying you overtime?"

He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.

"Obviously not," Lucius said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than Ron.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.

"Clearly," said Lucius, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley ... and I thought your family could sink no lower -'

There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Lucius, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please - please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up -"

Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Lucius apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Lucius had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.

"Here, girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you -" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.

"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr. Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family" – Remus nudged Andromeda when she opened her mouth and shook his head, "- everyone knows that - no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter - bad blood, that's what it is - come on now - let's get outta here."

The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving, but he barely came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it. They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs. Weasley beside herself with fury.

"A fine example to set for your children... brawling in public... what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought -"

"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report - said it was all publicity -"

But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry, Andromeda, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would be travelling back to the Burrow using Floo powder. They said good-bye to the Grangers, who were leaving the pub for the Muggle street on the other side; Mr. Weasley started to ask them how bus stops worked, but stopped quickly at the look on Mrs. Weasley's face. They bid the Lupins and Noah, too, when they walked out into Muggle London.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Whomping Willow

**Chapter 5 - The Whomping Willow**

The end of the summer vacation came too quickly for Andromeda's liking. She was looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts, but her month at the Burrow had been the happiest of her life. It was difficult not to feel jealous of Ron when she thought of the Dursleys and the sort of welcome she could expect next time she turned up on Privet Drive.

On their last evening, Mrs. Weasley conjured up a sumptuous dinner that included all of Harry's and Andromeda's favourite things, ending with a mouth-watering treacle pudding. Fred and George rounded off the evening with a display of Filibuster fireworks; they filled the kitchen with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for at least half an hour. Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed.

Ginny was so excited for her first day, she couldn't stop talking. Andromeda didn't mind though. It felt nice answering Ginny's questions about Hogwarts.

They finally started getting tired.

"I think I'm in love." Ginny said dreamily.

"How do you know if you're in love?" Andromeda asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Mum says that you start feeling warm and fuzzy inside when you look at the person and you can't help smiling at them sometimes. She says that you can't even imagine a life without them in it. That if anything were to happen to them you would feel helpless and empty. That you'd do anything for them. I think I'm in love with Harry Potter."

"You're eleven and have talked to Harry once," Andromeda snorted, but it was too late, Ginny was asleep.

Andromeda shook her head and smiled even though no one could see. But she froze suddenly. Did she, herself love anyone? Certainly. She loved her friends and family (although not perhaps _all_ her family). She loved her cat, who was snoring on her stomach. She loved Hogwarts and bacon. But was she _in_ _love_? If you had asked Andromeda that any other time she would deny it and say that she is only twelve. How can she be in love at twelve? But if you asked her then, at that exact moment, she would say maybe. Age is just a number. That a twelve year old is just as capable or falling in love as a person of one hundred and twelve. But if you asked her _who_ she was in love with, then that was an entirely different question. There was a person who makes her feel warm and fuzzy inside and makes her smile _so_ easily, that made her feel home, who _was_ her home. There was a person who she couldn't imagine a life without – who she wouldn't imagine a life without. There was a person who, if something happened, she would most definitely feel helpless and empty, and hell, might not even feel anymore, perhaps. There was a person who she would do anything for, who she would kill or die for, who she would rather be tortured with a thousand Cruciatus Curses for than see them hurt.

But that person was her best friend and was her everything, and to that person, she was probably just a best friend. To Harry Potter, she was just Andy, his best friend and nothing more.

The midnight realization stung her and she felt like she couldn't move or breathe.

It took a long while to get started next morning. They were up at dawn, but somehow they still seemed to have a great deal to do.

Andromeda felt so tired, her limbs heavy. She hadn't had any sleep; she couldn't even bring herself close to sleep. How could she fall asleep after that? No, forget that. How could she look at Harry, knowing what she knew?

So she decided that for as long as she could, she would not look him in the eye or the face. She would avoid all contact.

Mrs. Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills; people kept colliding on the stairs, half-dressed with bits of toast in their hands; and Mr. Weasley nearly broke his neck, tripping over a stray chicken as he crossed the yard carrying Ginny's trunk to the car.

Andromeda couldn't see how nine people, seven large trunks, two owls, a cat, and a rat were going to fit into one small Ford Anglia. She had reckoned, of course, without the special features that Mr. Weasley had added.

"Not a word to Molly," he whispered to Harry and Andromeda as he opened the trunk and showed them how it had been magically expanded so that the luggage fitted easily.

While they were standing there, Harry's arm slightly brushed hers and she jumped a mile and ran off sputtering about forgetting something.

When at last they were all in the car, Mrs. Weasley glanced into the back seat, where Harry, Andromeda, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy were all sitting comfortably side by side, and said, "Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" She and Ginny got into the front seat, which had been stretched so that it resembled a park bench. "I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?"

Andromeda had practically rushed to sit on the opposite side of the car, farthest from Harry.

Mr. Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, Andromeda turning back for a last look at the house. She barely had time to wonder when she'd see it again when they were back George had forgotten his box of Filibuster fireworks. Five minutes after that, they skidded to a halt in the yard so that Fred could run in for his broomstick. They had almost reached the highway when Ginny shrieked that she'd left her diary. By the time she had clambered back into the car, they were running very late, and tempers were running high.

Mr. Weasley glanced at his watch and then at his wife.

"Molly, dear -"

"No, Arthur -"

"No one would see - this little button here is an Invisibility Booster I installed - that'd get us up in the air - then we fly above the clouds. We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser -"

"I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight -"

They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Mr. Weasley dashed across the road to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.

Andromeda had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous year. The tricky part was getting onto platform nine and three-quarters, which wasn't visible to the Muggle eye. What you had to do was walk through the solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. It didn't hurt, but it had to be done carefully so that none of the Muggles noticed you vanishing.

"Percy first," said Mrs. Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead, which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier.

Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr. Weasley went next; Fred and George followed.

"I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us," Mrs. Weasley told Harry and Ron, grabbing Ginny's hand and setting off. In the blink of an eye they were gone.

"Let's all go together, we've only got a minute," Ron said to Harry and Andromeda.

Harry made sure that Hedwig's cage was safely wedged on top of his trunk and wheeled his trolley around to face the barrier. Andromeda checked that Midnight's cage was secured safely in her trolley. She felt perfectly confident; this wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as using Floo powder. All three of them bent low over the handles of their trolleys and walked purposefully toward the barrier, gathering speed. A few feet away from it, they broke into a run and -

CRASH.

All trolleys hit the barrier and bounced backward; Ron's trunk fell off with a loud thump, Harry was knocked off his feet, and Midnight's cage bounced onto the shiny floor, and she meowed indignantly; people all around them stared and a guard nearby yelled, "What in blazes d'you think you're doing?"

"Lost control of the trolleys," Harry gasped, clutching his ribs as he got up. Ron ran to pick up Midnight, who was causing such a scene that there was a lot of muttering about cruelty to animals from the surrounding crowd.

"Why can't we get through?" Andromeda hissed to Ron.

"I dunno -"

Ron looked wildly around. A dozen curious people were still watching them.

"We're going to miss the train," Ron whispered. "I don't understand why the gateway's sealed itself -"

Andromeda looked up at the giant clock with a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. Ten seconds ... nine seconds ...

She saw Harry wheel his trolley forward cautiously until it was right against the barrier and pushed with all his might. The metal remained solid.

Three seconds... two seconds ... one second ...

"It's gone," said Andromeda, sounding stunned. "The train's left. "

What if Mum and Dad can't get back through to us?" Ron said. "Have you got any Muggle money?"

And they marched off through the crowd of curious Muggles, out of the station and back onto the side road where the old Ford Anglia was parked.

Ron unlocked the cavernous trunk with a series of taps from his wand. They heaved their luggage back in, put Hedwig and Midnight on the back seat, and Harry and Ron got into the front while Andromeda clambered into the back.

"Check that no one's watching," said Ron, starting the ignition with another tap of his wand. Harry stuck his head out of the window.

"Okay," he said.

Ron pressed a tiny silver button on the dashboard. The car around them vanished - and so did they. Andromeda could feel the seat vibrating beneath her, hear the engine, feel her hands on her knees, but for all she could see, they had become a pair of eyeballs, floating a few feet above the ground in a dingy street full of parked cars.

"Let's go," said Ron's voice from his right.

And the ground and the dirty buildings on either side fell away, dropping out of sight as the car rose; in seconds, the whole of London lay, smoky and glittering, below them.

Then there was a popping noise and the car, Harry, Andromeda, and Ron reappeared.

"Uh-oh," said Ron, jabbing at the Invisibility Booster. "It's faulty -"

The boys pummelled it. The car vanished. Then it flickered back again.

"Hold on!" Ron yelled, and he slammed his foot on the accelerator; they shot straight into the low, woolly clouds and everything turned dull and foggy.

"Now what?" said Andromeda, blinking at the solid mass of cloud pressing in on them from all sides.

"We need to see the train to know what direction to go in," said Ron.

"Dip back down again - quickly -"

They dropped back beneath the clouds and twisted around in their seats, squinting at the ground.

"I can see it!" Harry yelled. "Right ahead - there!"

The Hogwarts Express was streaking along below them like a scarlet snake.

"Due north," said Ron, checking the compass on the dashboard. "Okay, we'll just have to check on it every half hour or so - hold on

And they shot up through the clouds. A minute later, they burst out into a blaze of sunlight.

It was a different world. The wheels of the car skimmed the sea of fluffy cloud, the sky a bright, endless blue under the blinding white sun.

"All we've got to worry about now are airplanes," said Ron.

They looked at one another and started to laugh; for a long time, they couldn't stop.

It was as though they had been plunged into a fabulous dream. This, thought Andromeda, was surely the only way to travel - past swirls and turrets of snowy cloud, in a car full of hot, bright sunlight, with a fat pack of toffees in the glove compartment, and the prospect of seeing Fred's and George's jealous faces when they landed smoothly and spectacularly on the sweeping lawn in front of Hogwarts castle.

They made regular checks on the train as they flew farther and farther north, each dip beneath the clouds showing them a different view. London was soon far behind them, replaced by neat green fields that gave way in turn to wide, purplish moors, a great city alive with cars like multi-coloured ants, villages with tiny toy churches.

Half-way through the ride, Harry turned around suddenly so he was facing Andromeda. She looked out the window, determined to not look him in the eye.

"Hey," Harry said. She felt his hand on her arm and jerked it back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she squeaked. She started playing with Midnight in her cage to busy herself.

Then, she felt something move near her and almost jumped out of her skin but relaxed when she saw that it was Harry moving to sit next to her.

"You've been weird all morning," he said.

"N-no I haven't," Andromeda said shakily.

"Uh huh. Okay, sure," he said nonchalantly. "I believe you.

She whipped her head around and stared at him.

"No you bloody don't," she accused him.

"Prove me wrong, then?" He dug his fingers into her side making her jump.

"No."

"Why not?" He poked at her sides again. She jolted away.

"Because," she said, slapping his hand away, "there is nothing wrong with me, you dolt."

They settled down into a comfortable silence. Andromeda mentally slapped herself; she had looked him in the eye and touched him, both of the things she said she wasn't going to do. But she supposed she could do without those short-lived rules. She did want to still be just as close as they were before her realization. So she silently promised herself that she wasn't going to let her feelings change her friendship with Harry in any way. She was just going to hope it blow over eventually.

"So," Harry said suddenly after a few minutes of silence. "What was up with you the other day when we were in Diagon Alley? You defended the Malfoys."

Andromeda froze and looked at him. Then, slowly, she turned and faced the front, breathing out slowly. She said quietly, "I'm related to them."

"You are?" Harry said. "How?"

"Malfoy's mother is my dad's cousin."

"So you're telling me that Malfoy," Harry said slowly. "Our enemy, Malfoy, is your... second cousin?"

"Bingo."

"Oh. Okay."

"That also means that I'm related to Bellatrix Lestrange, you know," Andromeda said.

"Well yeah," said Harry. "But what does that matter?"

"She's the woman."

Harry didn't have to ask who she was talking about. He grabbed her hand and they stayed like that for a while. She thought that this would be weird now because she knew her feelings for him weren't completely platonic, but she was so used to it now, it didn't feel like a romantic gesture.

Several uneventful hours later, however, Andromeda had to admit that some of the fun of driving in the car was wearing off. The toffees had made them extremely thirsty and they had nothing to drink. Andromeda, Harry and Ron had pulled off their sweaters, but Andromeda's T-shirt was sticking to the back of her seat. Andromeda was thinking longingly of the train miles below, where you could buy ice-cold pumpkin juice from a trolley pushed by a plump witch. Why hadn't they been able to get onto platform nine and three-quarters?

"Can't be much further, can it?" croaked Ron, hours later still, as the sun started to sink into their floor of cloud, staining it a deep pink. "Ready for another check on the train?"

It was still right below them, winding its way past a snow-capped mountain. It was much darker beneath the canopy of clouds.

Ron put his foot on the accelerator and drove them upward again, but as he did so, the engine began to whine.

Harry, Andromeda and Ron exchanged nervous glances.

"It's probably just tired," said Ron. "It's never been this far before..."

And they all pretended not to notice the whining growing louder and louder as the sky became steadily darker. Stars were blossoming in the blackness. Andromeda pulled her sweater back on, trying to ignore the way the windshield wipers were now waving feebly, as though in protest as Harry climbed over the seat and sat in the front.

"Not far," said Ron, more to the car than to Harry and Andromeda, "not far now," and he patted the dashboard nervously. When they flew back beneath the clouds a little while later, they had to squint through the darkness for a landmark they knew. "There!" Harry shouted, making Ron, Andromeda, Midnight and Hedwig jump. "Straight ahead!" Silhouetted on the dark horizon, high on the cliff over the lake, stood the many turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle. But the car had begun to shudder and was losing speed.

"Come on," Ron said cajolingly, giving the steering wheel a little shake, "nearly there, come on -" The engine groaned. Narrow jets of steam were issuing from under the hood. Andromeda found herself gripping the edges of her seat very hard as they flew toward the lake. The car gave a nasty wobble. Glancing out of her window, Andromeda saw the smooth, black, glassy surface of the water, a mile below. Ron's knuckles were white on the steering wheel. The car wobbled again. "Come on," Ron muttered. They were over the lake - the castle was right ahead - Ron put his foot down. There was a loud clunk, a splutter, and the engine died completely.

"Uh-oh," said Ron, into the silence.

The nose of the car dropped. They were falling, gathering speed, heading straight for the solid castle wall.

"Noooooo!" Ron yelled, swinging the steering wheel around; they missed the dark stone wall by inches as the car turned in a great arc, soaring over the dark greenhouses, then the vegetable patch, and then out over the black lawns, losing altitude all the time.

Ron let go of the steering wheel completely and pulled his wand out of his back pocket

"STOP! STOP!" he yelled, whacking the dashboard and the windshield, but they were still plummeting, the ground flying up toward them

"WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!" Harry bellowed, lunging for the steering wheel, but too late.

CRUNCH.

With an ear-splitting bang of metal on wood, they hit the thick tree trunk and dropped to the ground with a heavy jolt. Steam was billowing from under the crumpled hood; Hedwig was and Midnight shrieking and meowing in terror; Andromeda thought she might have a sprained wrist from holding onto the top of Ron's seat; a golfball-size lump was throbbing on Harry's head where he had hit the windshield; Ron let out a low, despairing groan.

"Are you okay?" Harry said urgently.

"My wand," said Ron, in a shaky voice. "Look at my wand -"

It had snapped, almost in two; the tip was dangling limply, held on by a few splinters.

Andromeda opened her mouth to say she was sure they'd be able to mend it up at the school, but she never even got started. At that very moment, something hit Harry's side of the car with the force of a charging bull, sending him lurching sideways into Ron, just as an equally heavy blow hit the roof, Andromeda's head being bumped slightly by the newly-dented roof.

"What's happen -?"

Ron gasped, staring through the windshield, and Andromeda looked around just in time to see a branch as thick as a python smash into it. The tree they had hit was attacking them. Its trunk was bent almost double, and its gnarled boughs were pummelling every inch of the car it could reach.

"Aaargh!" said Ron as another twisted limb punched a large dent into his door; the windshield was now trembling under a hail of blows from knuckle-like twigs and a branch as thick as a battering ram was pounding furiously on the roof, which seemed to be caving. "Run for it!" Ron shouted, throwing his full weight against his door, but next second he had been knocked backward into Harry's lap by a vicious uppercut from another branch.

"We're done for!" Andromeda moaned as the ceiling sagged even more, hitting her head again, but suddenly the floor of the car was vibrating - the engine had restarted.

"Reverse!" Harry yelled, and the car shot backward; the tree was still trying to hit them; they could hear its roots creaking as it almost ripped itself up, lashing out at them as they sped out of reach.

"That," panted Ron, "was close. Well done, car -"

The car, however, had reached the end of its tether. With two sharp clunks, the doors flew open and Andromeda felt her seat tip sideways. Next thing she knew she was sprawled on the damp ground. Loud thuds told her that the car was ejecting their luggage from the trunk; Hedwig's cage flew through the air and burst open; she rose out of it with an angry screech and sped off toward the castle without a backward look. Andromeda sat up, groaning hand holding her head, just in time to catch Midnight's cage. Then, dented, scratched, and steaming, the car rumbled off into the darkness, its rear lights blazing angrily.

"Come back!" Ron yelled after it, brandishing his broken wand. "Dad'll kill me!"

But the car disappeared from view with one last snort from its exhaust.

"Can you believe our luck?" said Andromeda miserably, bending down to pick up Scabbers and hand him to Ron. "Of all the trees we could've hit, we had to get one that hits back."

She glanced over his shoulder at the ancient tree, which was still flailing its branches threateningly.

"Come on," said Harry wearily, "we'd better get up to the school..."

It wasn't at all the triumphant arrival they had pictured. Stiff, cold, and bruised, they seized the ends of their trunks and began dragging them up the grassy slope, toward the great oak front doors.

"I think the feast's already started," said Ron, dropping his trunk at the foot of the front steps and crossing quietly to look through a brightly lit window. "Hey – Harry, 'Dromeda - come and look - it's the Sorting!"

Harry and Andromeda hurried over and, together, they and Ron peered in at the Great Hall.

Innumerable candles were hovering in midair over four long, crowded tables, making the golden plates and goblets sparkle. Overhead, the bewitched ceiling, which always mirrored the sky outside, sparkled with stars.

Through the forest of pointed black Hogwarts hats, Andromeda saw a long line of scared-looking first years fiIing into the Hall. Ginny was among them, easily visible because of her vivid Weasley hair. Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall, a bespectacled witch with her hair in a tight bun, was placing the famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat on a stool before the newcomers.

Every year, this aged old hat, patched, frayed, and dirty, sorted new students into the four Hogwarts houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin). Andromeda well remembered putting it on, exactly one year ago, and waiting, petrified, for its decision as it muttered aloud in his ear. For a few horrible seconds she had feared that the hat was going to put her in Slytherin, the house that had turned out more Dark witches and wizards than any other -but she had ended up in Gryffindor, along with Ron, Harry, Dorcas, Noah, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys. Last term, Harry, Andromeda and Ron had helped Gryffindor win the House Championship, beating Slytherin for the first time in seven years.

A very small, mousy-haired boy had been called forward to place the hat on his head. Andromeda's eyes wandered past him to where Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster, sat watching the Sorting from the staff table, his long silver beard and half-moon glasses shining brightly in the candlelight. Several seats along, Andromeda saw Gilderoy Lockhart, dressed in robes of aquamarine and scowled. And there at the end was Hagrid, huge and hairy, drinking deeply from his goblet.

"Hang on..."Harry muttered to Ron and Andromeda. "There's an empty chair at the staff table... Where's Snape?"

Andromeda looked again at the table and realized he was, in fact, missing from the table.

Professor Severus Snape was Harry's and Andromeda's least favourite teacher. Harry and Andromeda also happened to be Snape's least favourite students. Cruel, sarcastic, and disliked by everybody except the students from his own house (Slytherin), Snape taught Potions.

"Maybe he's ill!" said Ron hopefully.

"Maybe he's left," said Harry, "because he missed out on the Defense Against Dark Arts job again!"

"Or he might have been sacked!" said Andromeda enthusiastically. "I mean, everyone hates him -"

"Or maybe," said a very cold voice right behind them, "he's waiting to hear why you three didn't arrive on the school train."

Andromeda spun around. There, his black robes rippling in a cold breeze, stood Severus Snape. He was a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and greasy, shoulder-length black hair, and at this moment, he was smiling in a way that told Harry, Andromeda and Ron that they were in very deep trouble.

"Snivellus!" Andromeda exclaimed. "We found you! We've been looking -"

"Shut it, Black," said Snape. "Follow me."

Not daring even to look at each other, Harry, Andromeda and Ron followed Snape up the steps into the vast, echoing entrance hall, which was lit with flaming torches. A delicious smell of food was wafting from the Great Hall, but Snape led them away from the warmth and light, down a narrow stone staircase that led into the dungeons.

"In!" he said, opening a door halfway down the cold passageway and pointing.

They entered Snape's office, shivering. The shadowy walls were lined with shelves of large glass jars, in which floated all manner of revolting things Andromeda didn't really want to know the name of at the moment. The fireplace was dark and empty. Snape closed the door and turned to look at them.

"So," he said softly, "the train isn't good enough for the famous Harry Potter, the trouble-making Andromeda Black and their faithful sidekick Weasley. Wanted to arrive with a bang, did we?"

"No, sir, it was the barrier at King's Cross, it -"

"Silence!" said Snape coldly. "What have you done with the car?" Ron gulped. This wasn't the first time Snape had given Andromeda the impression of being able to read minds. But a moment later, she understood, as Snape unrolled today's issue of the Evening Prophet. "You were seen," he hissed, showing them the headline: FLY ING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES. He began to read aloud: "Two Muggles in London, convinced they saw an old car flying over the Post Office tower ... at noon in Norfolk, Mrs. Hetty Bayliss, while hanging out her washing ... Mr. Angus Fleet, of Peebles, reported to police ... Six or seven Muggles in all. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office?" he said, looking up at Ron and smiling still more nastily. "Dear, dear ... his own son..."

Andromeda felt as though she'd just been walloped in the stomach by one of the mad tree's larger branches. If anyone found out Mr. Weasley had bewitched the car ... they hadn't thought of that...

"I noticed, in my search of the park, that considerable damage seems to have been done to a very valuable Whomping Willow," Snape went on.

"That tree did more damage to us than we -" Ron blurted out.

"Silence!" snapped Snape again. "Most unfortunately, you are not in my House and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power. You will wait here." Harry, Andromeda and Ron stared at each other, white-faced. Andromeda didn't feel hungry any more. She now felt extremely sick. She tried not to look at a large, slimy something suspended in green liquid on a shelf behind Snape's desk. If Snape had gone to fetch Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, they were hardly any better off. She might be fairer than Snape, and seemingly fond of Andromeda from their time spent together in Andromeda's countless detentions last year, but she was still extremely strict.

Ten minutes later, Snape returned, and sure enough it was Professor McGonagall who accompanied him. Andromeda had seen Professor McGonagall angry on several occasions, but either she had forgotten just how thin her mouth could go, or she had never seen her this angry before. She raised her wand the moment she entered; Harry, Andromda and Ron both flinched, but she merely pointed it at the empty fireplace, where flames suddenly erupted.

"Sit," she said, and they all backed into chairs by the fire.

"Explain," she said, her glasses glinting ominously.

Ron launched into the story, starting with the barrier at the station refusing to let them through.

"- so we had no choice, Professor, we couldn't get on the train."

"Why didn't you send us a letter by owl? I believe you have an owl?" Professor McGonagall said coldly to Harry.

Andromeda gaped at her. Now she said it, that seemed the obvious thing to have done.

"We - we didn't think -"

"That," said Professor McGonagall, "is obvious."

There was a knock on the office door and Snape, now looking happier than ever, opened it. There stood the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.

Andromeda's whole body went numb. Dumbledore was looking unusually grave. He stared down his very crooked nose at them.

There was a long silence. Then Dumbledore said, "Please explain why you did this."

It would have been better if he had shouted. Andromeda hated the disappointment in his voice. For some reason, she was unable to look Dumbledore in the eyes, and spoke instead to her knees when she recounted the story. She told Dumbledore everything except that Mr. Weasley owned the bewitched car, making it sound as though she, Harry and Ron had happened to find a flying car parked outside the station. She knew Dumbledore would see through this at once, but Dumbledore asked no questions about the car. When Andromeda had finished, he merely continued to peer at them through his spectacles.

"We'll go and get our stuff," said Ron in a hopeless sort of voice.

"What are you talking about, Weasley?" barked Professor McGonagall.

"Well, you're expelling us, aren't you?" said Ron.

Andromeda looked quickly at Professor McGonagall.

"Not today, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore. "But I must impress upon all three of you the seriousness of what you have done. I will be writing to both your families tonight, as well as to Mr. Lupin" – Andromeda glanced up at him at this, hoping he was joking – "I must also warn you that if you do anything like this again, I will have no choice but to expel you."

Snape looked as though Christmas had been cancelled. He cleared his throat and said, "Professor Dumbledore, these boys and this girl have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree - surely acts of this nature -"

"It will be for Professor McGonagall to decide on these boys' punishments, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "They are in her House and are therefore her responsibility." He turned to Professor McGonagall. "I must go back to the feast, Minerva, I've got to give out a few notices. Come, Severus, there's a delicious-looking custard tart I want to sample -"

Snape shot a look of pure venom at Harry, Andromeda and Ron as he allowed himself to be swept out of his office, leaving them alone with Professor McGonagall, who was still eyeing them like a wrathful eagle.

"You'd better get along to the hospital wing, Weasley, you're bleeding."

"Not much," said Ron, hastily wiping the cut over his eye with his sleeve. "Professor, I wanted to watch my sister being Sorted -"

"The Sorting Ceremony is over," said Professor McGonagall. "Your sister is also in Gryffindor."

"Oh, good," said Ron.

"And speaking of Gryffindor -" Professor McGonagall said sharply, but Andromeda cut in: "Minnie, when we took the car, term hadn't started, so - so Gryffindor shouldn't really have points taken from it - should it?" she finished, watching her anxiously. Professor McGonagall gave her a piercing look at her nickname, but she was sure she had almost smiled. Her mouth looked less thin, anyway. "I will not take any points from Gryffindor," she said, and Andromeda's heart lightened considerably. "But you will all get a detention."

It was better than Andromeda had expected. As for Dumbledore's writing to the Dursleys, that was nothing. Andromeda knew perfectly well they'd just be disappointed that the Whomping Willow hadn't squashed her and Harry flat. But she was not excited to receive a letter from Remus expressing his disappointment.

Professor McGonagall raised her wand again and pointed it at Snape's desk. A large plate of sandwiches, three silver goblets, and a jug of-iced pumpkin juice appeared with a pop.

"You will eat in here and then go straight up to your dormitory," she said. "I must also return to the feast."

When the door had closed behind her, Ron let out a long, low whistle.

"I thought we'd had it," Andromeda said, grabbing a sandwich.

"So did I," said Harry, taking one, too.

"Can you believe our luck, though?" said Ron thickly through a mouthful of chicken and ham. "Fred and George must've flown that car five or six times and no Muggle ever saw them." He swallowed and took another huge bite. "Why couldn't we get through the barrier?"

Harry shrugged. "We'll have to watch our step from now on, though," he said, taking a grateful swig of pumpkin juice. "Wish we could've gone up to the feast..."

"She didn't want us showing off," said Andromeda sagely. "Doesn't want people to think it's clever, arriving by flying car."

When they had eaten as many sandwiches as they could (the plate kept refilling itself) they rose and left the office, treading the familiar path to Gryffindor Tower. The castle was quiet; it seemed that the feast was over. They walked past muttering portraits and creaking suits of armour, and climbed narrow flights of stone stairs, until at last they reached the passage where the secret entrance to Gryffindor Tower was hidden, behind an oil painting of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said as they approached.

"Er -" said Harry.

They didn't know the new year's password, not having met a Gryffindor prefect yet, but help came almost immediately; they heard hurrying feet behind them and turned to see Hermione, Dorcas and Noah dashing toward them.

"There you are!" Noah said. "Where have you been? The most ridiculous rumours - someone said you'd been expelled for crashing a flying car -"

"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry assured her.

"You're not telling me you did fly here?" said Dorcas, sounding almost as severe as Professor McGonagall and glaring at Andromeda as if telling her that she should have known better.

"Skip the lecture," said Ron impatiently, "and tell us the new password."

"It's `wattlebird,"' said Hermione impatiently, "but that's not the point - "

Her words were cut short, however, as the portrait of the fat lady swung open and there was a sudden storm of clapping. It looked as though the whole of Gryffindor House was still awake, packed into the circular common room, standing on the lopsided tables and squashy armchairs, waiting for them to arrive. Arms reached through the portrait hole to pull Harry, Andromeda and Ron inside, leaving Hermione, Dorcas and Noah to scramble in after them.

"Brilliant!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Inspired! What an entrance! Flying a car right into the Whomping Willow, people'll be talking about that one for years -"

"Good for you," said a fifth year Andromeda had never spoken to; someone was patting her on the back as though she'd just won a marathon; Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the crowd and said together, "Why couldn't we've come in the car, eh?"

Andromeda took a deep bow and grinned. Ron was scarlet in the face, grinning embarrassedly, but then Andromeda could see one person who didn't look happy at all. Percy was visible over the heads of some excited first years, and he seemed to be trying to get near enough to start telling them off. Harry nudged Ron in the ribs and nodded in Percy's direction. Ron got the point at once.

"Got to get upstairs - bit tired," he said, and the two of them started pushing their way toward the door on the other side of the room, which led to a spiral staircase and the dormitories, Noah right on their heels.

"'Night," Harry called back to Andromeda, Dorcas and Hermione, who was wearing a scowl just like Percy's.

Dorcas turned to Andromeda and frowned. "You could have gotten seriously hurt."

But Andromeda just embraced her in a hug and grinning.


	6. Chapter 6 - Gilderoy Lockhart

**Chapter 6 - Gilderoy Lockhart**

The next day, however, Andromeda barely grinned once. Things started to go downhill from breakfast in the Great Hall. The four long house tables were laden with tureens of porridge, plates of kippers, mountains of toast, and dishes of eggs and bacon, beneath the enchanted ceiling (today, a dull, cloudy gray). Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Hermione, who had her copy of _Voyages with Vampires_ propped open against a milk jug. There was a slight stiffness in the way she said "Morning," which told Andromeda that she was still disapproving of the way they had arrived. Neville Longbottom, on the other hand, greeted them cheerfully. Neville was a round-faced and accident-prone boy with the worst memory of anyone Andromeda had ever met.

"Mail's due any minute - I think Gran's sending a few things I forgot."

Andromeda had only just picked a piece of bacon up when, sure enough, there was a rushing sound overhead and a hundred or so owls streamed in, circling the hall and dropping letters and packages into the chattering crowd. A big, lumpy package bounced off Neville's head and Dorcas' owl Stuffy had dropped a letter in Andromeda's lap, and, a second later, something large and gray fell into Hermione's jug, spraying them all with milk and feathers.

"Errol!" said Ron, pulling the bedraggled owl out by the feet. Errol slumped, unconscious, onto the table, his legs in the air and a damp red envelope in his beak.

"Oh, no -" Ron gasped.

"It's all right, he's still alive," said Hermione, prodding Errol gently with the tip of her finger.

"It's not that - it's that."

Ron was pointing at the red envelope. It looked quite ordinary to Andromeda, but Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Neville were both looking at it as though they expected it to explode.

"What's the matter?" said Harry.

"She's - she's sent me a Howler," said Ron faintly.

"You'd better open it, Ron," said Neville in a timid whisper. "It'll be worse if you don't My gran sent me one once, and I ignored it and" - he gulped - "it was horrible."

Andromeda looked from their petrified faces to the red envelope.

"What's a Howler?" she said.

But Ron's whole attention was fixed on the letter, which had begun to smoke at the corners.

"Open it," Neville urged. "It'll all be over in a few minutes -"

Ron stretched out a shaking hand, eased the envelope from Errol's beak, and slit it open. Neville and Noah stuffed their fingers in their ears. A split second later, Andromeda knew why. She thought for a moment it had exploded; a roar of sound filled the huge hall, shaking dust from the ceiling.

"STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHERAND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE -"

Mrs. Weasleys yells, a hundred times louder than usual, made the plates and spoons rattle on the table, and echoed deafeningly off the stone walls. People throughout the hall were swivelling around to see who had received the Howler, and Ron sank so low in his chair that only his crimson forehead could be seen.

"- LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU, ANDROMEDA AND HARRY COULD HAVE DIED -"

Andromeda had been wondering when her name was going to crop up. She tried very hard to look as though she couldn't hear the voice that was making his eardrums throb and continued eating her bacon.

"-ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED - YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

A ringing silence fell. The red envelope, which had dropped from Ron's hand, burst into flames and curled into ashes. Harry, Andromeda and Ron sat stunned, as though a tidal wave had just passed over them. A few people laughed and, gradually, a babble of talk broke out again.

Hermione closed Voyages with Vampires and looked down at the top of Ron's head.

"Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you -"

"Don't tell me I deserved it," snapped Ron.

Harry pushed his porridge away.

Andromeda decided to open her letter from Remus.

 _Meda,_

 _I sent an owl to Andromeda the other day about you and I received a letter back. They would love to meet you. They said that they will get in touch with Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall to see if they can visit you at Hogwarts sometime. I sent an owl back suggesting they come and see your first game. I've already gotten permission to came and watch it._

 _Also, I received an owl from Professor Dumbledore last night about you, Harry and Ron driving a car into the Whomping Willow. I just want to know if you are okay._

 _I wish we had thought to do that when we were at school. It seems like a bloody great idea._

 _Love,_

 _Uncle Moony._

Andromeda let out a laugh at that last bit. She was expecting a disappointed letter, but she should have known better. Remus was a Marauder after all.

Just then as she was laughing, McGonagall was moving along the Gryffindor table, handing out course schedules.

"I trust that was a letter from Mr. Lupin that you were so entertained by?" she asked, peering over her glasses.

"You would be correct, Minnie McGee," Andromeda replied.

"And I suppose he was not angry or disappointed?"

"Nope," Andromeda said. "He said he wishes he and his friends had done that when they went to Hogwarts."

"Dad would not have said that! He told me and Noah that he was a great student at Hogwarts. That he was a Prefect," Dorcas said loudly.

"Yes, Miss Lupin, your father was a Prefect," Professor McGonagall said. "That did nothing to stop him and his friends from pranking the school."

"Time to carry on their legacy, I say," Andromeda said. "Don't you agree, Professor?"

Professor McGonagall sighed exasperatedly and held out the timetables. Andromeda took hers and saw that they had double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs first.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione left the castle together, crossed the vegetable patch, and made for the greenhouses, where the magical plants were kept. At least the Howler had done one good thing: Hermione seemed to think they had now been punished enough and was being perfectly friendly again.

As they neared the greenhouses they saw the rest of the class standing outside, waiting for Professor Sprout. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione had only just joined them when she came striding into view across the lawn, accompanied by Gilderoy Lockhart. Professor Sprout's arms were full of bandages, and with a twinge of guilt, Andromeda spotted the Whomping Willow in the distance, several of its branches now in slings.

Professor Sprout was a squat little witch who wore a patched hat over her flyaway hair; there was usually a large amount of earth on her clothes and her fingernails would have made Aunt Petunia faint. Gilderoy Lockhart, however, was immaculate in sweeping robes of turquoise, his golden hair shining under a perfectly positioned turquoise hat with gold trimming.

"Oh, hello there!" he called, beaming around at the assembled students. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is! I just happen to have met several of these exotic plants on my travels..."

"Greenhouse three today, chaps!" said Professor Sprout, who was looking distinctly disgruntled, not at all her usual cheerful self.

There was a murmur of interest. They had only ever worked in greenhouse one before - greenhouse three housed far more interesting and dangerous plants. Professor Sprout took a large key from her belt and unlocked the door. Andromeda caught a whiff of damp earth and fertilizer mingling with the heavy perfume of some giant, umbrella-sized flowers dangling from the ceiling. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron and Hermione went to file into the greenhouse, but before Harry could get inside, Gilderoy Lockhart steered him away.

"Hey, where's Harry?" Noah asked a minute later once the class had chosen their places to sit.

About twenty pairs of different-coloured ear muffs were lying on the bench.

"He's with that git, Lockhart," Andromeda scowled. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't like the guy at all.

"Not a fan of him, are you?" Professor Sprout said from behind her.

"Not in a million years will I be a fan of that idiot."

"Then I guess I will have to give ten points to Gryffindor."

Andromeda and her friends stared as their professor turned and walked to the centre of the greenhouse behind a trestle bench.

After a moment, Harry opened the door and slid inside the greenhouse. When Harry had taken his place between Andromeda and Noah, Professor Sprout said, "We'll be re-potting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?" To nobody's surprise, Hermione's hand was first into the air.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative," said Hermione, sounding as usual as though she had swallowed the textbook. "It is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state."

"Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout. "The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also, however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

Dorcas' hand narrowly missed Andromeda's ear as it shot up.

"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it," she said promptly.

"Precisely. Take another ten points for Gryffindor," said Professor Sprout. "Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young."

She pointed to a row of deep trays as she spoke, and everyone shuffled forward for a better look. A hundred or so tufty little plants, purplish green in colour, were growing there in rows. They looked quite unremarkable to Andromeda, who didn't have the slightest idea what Hermione meant by the "cry" of the Mandrake.

"Everyone take a pair of earmuffs," said Professor Sprout.

There was a scramble as everyone tried to seize a pair that wasn't pink and fluffy.

"When I tell you to put them on, make sure your ears are completely covered," said Professor Sprout. "When it is safe to remove them, I will give you the thumbs-up. Right - earmuffs on."

Andromeda snapped the earmuffs over her ears. They shut out sound completely. Professor Sprout put the pink, fluffy pair over her own ears, rolled up the sleeves of her robes, grasped one of the tufty plants firmly, and pulled hard.

Instead of roots, a small, muddy, and extremely ugly baby popped out of the earth. The leaves were growing right out of his head. He had pale green, mottled skin, and was clearly bawling at the top of his lungs.

Professor Sprout took a large plant pot from under the table and plunged the Mandrake into it, burying him in dark, damp compost until only the tufted leaves were visible. Professor Sprout dusted off her hands, gave them all the thumbs-up, and removed her own earmuffs.

"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet," she said calmly as though she'd just done nothing more exciting than water a begonia. "However, they will knock you out for several hours, and as I'm sure none of you want to miss your first day back, make sure your earmuffs are securely in place while you work. I will attract your attention when it is time to pack up.

"Seven to a tray - there is a large supply of pots here - compost in the sacks over there - and be careful of the Venemous Tentacula, it's teething."

She gave a sharp slap to a spiky, dark red plant as she spoke, making it draw in the long feelers that had been inching sneakily over her shoulder.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione were joined at their tray by a curly-haired Hufflepuff boy Andromeda knew by sight but had never spoken to.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley," he said brightly, shaking Harry by the hand. "Know who you are, of course, the famous Harry Potter... And you're Hermione Granger - always top in everything" (Hermione beamed as she had her hand shaken too) "- and Ron Weasley. Wasn't that your flying car?"

Ron didn't smile. The Howler was obviously still on his mind.

"And you two must be Dorcas Lupin and Noah Pettigrew, everyone seems to know you two," he said shaking hands with both Dorcas and Noah. Then, he turned to Andromeda and said, "And you're Andromeda Black, that girl that always pulls pranks on Slytherins. The murderer's daughter."

Andromeda did not shake his hand.

"That Lockhart's something, isn't he?" said Justin happily as they began filling their plant pots with dragon dung compost. "Awfully brave chap. Have you read his books? I'd have died of fear if I'd been cornered in a telephone booth by a werewolf, but he stayed cool and - zap - just fantastic.

"My name was down for Eton, you know. I can't tell you how glad I am I came here instead. Of course, Mother was slightly disappointed, but since I made her read Lockhart's books I think she's begun to see how useful it'll be to have a fully trained wizard in the family... ."

After that they didn't have much chance to talk. Their earmuffs were back on and they needed to concentrate on the Mandrakes. Professor Sprout had made it look extremely easy, but it wasn't. The Mandrakes didn't like coming out of the earth, but didn't seem to want to go back into it either. They squirmed, kicked, flailed their sharp little fists, and gnashed their teeth; Andromeda spent ten whole minutes trying to squash a particularly fat one into a pot.

By the end of the class, Andromeda, like everyone else, was sweaty, aching, and covered in earth. Everyone traipsed back to the castle for a quick wash and then the Gryffindors hurried off to Transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall's classes were always a bit too easy for Andromeda, but today was a little more difficult. Everything Andromeda had learned last year seemed to have leaked out of her head during the summer. She still managed to turn a beetle into a button, but it took a couple of tries for the first button. After that, she produced many other buttons easily.

Ron was having far worse problems. He had patched up his wand with some borrowed Spellotape, but it seemed to be damaged beyond repair. It kept crackling and sparking at odd moments, and every time Ron tried to transfigure his beetle it engulfed him in thick gray smoke that smelled of rotten eggs. Unable to see what he was doing, Ron accidentally squashed his beetle with his elbow and had to ask for a new one. Professor McGonagall wasn't pleased.

Andromeda was relieved to hear the lunch bell. Her brain felt like a wrung sponge. Everyone filed out of the classroom except Andromeda, Harry, Dorcas, Noah, Hermione and Ron, who was whacking his wand furiously on the desk.

"Stupid - useless - thing -"

"Write home for another one," Harry suggested as the wand let off a volley of bangs like a firecracker.

"Oh, yeah, and get another Howler back," said Ron, stuffing the now hissing wand into his bag. "It's your own fault your wand got snapped - '"

They went down to lunch, where Ron's mood was not improved by Hermione's showing them the handful of perfect coat buttons she had produced in Transfiguration.

"What've we got this afternoon?" said Harry, hastily changing the subject.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione at once.

"Why, "demanded Ron, seizing her schedule, "have you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?"

Hermione snatched the schedule back, blushing furiously.

"Honestly, 'Mione," Noah said. "He isn't that great."

They finished lunch and went outside into the overcast courtyard. Hermione sat down on a stone step and buried her nose in Voyages with Vampires again. Harry, Andromeda, Noah, Dorcas and Ron stood talking about Quidditch for several minutes before Andromeda realized Harry was being closely watched. Looking up, she saw the very small, mousy-haired boy she'd seen trying on the Sorting Hat last night staring at Harry as though transfixed. He was clutching what looked like an ordinary Muggle camera, and the moment Harry looked at him, he went bright red.

"All right, Harry? I'm -I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think - would it be all right if - can I have a picture?" he said, raising the camera hopefully.

"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.

"So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly, edging further forward. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead" (his eyes raked Harry's hairline) "and a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll move." Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you" - he looked imploringly at Harry - "maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"

"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potter?"

Loud and scathing, Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the courtyard. He had stopped right behind Colin, flanked, as he always was at Hogwarts, by his large and thuggish cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Everyone line up!" Malfoy roared to the crowd. "Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"

"No, I'm not," said Harry angrily, his fists clenching. "Shut up, Malfoy."

"You're just jealous," piped up Colin, whose entire body was about as thick as Crabbe's neck.

"Jealous?"said Malfoy, who didn't need to shout anymore: half the courtyard was listening in. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open makes you that special, myself."

Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering stupidly.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy," said Ron angrily. Crabbe stopped laughing and started rubbing his knuckles in a menacing way.

"Be careful, Weasley," sneered Malfoy. "You don't want to start any trouble or your Mommy'll have to come and take you away from school." He put on a shrill, piercing voice. "If you put another toe out of line' -"

A knot of Slytherin fifth-years nearby laughed loudly at this.

"Black would like a signed photo, Potter," smirked Malfoy. "She's always the biggest fan of yours."

At this, Andromeda blushed deeply, her hair turning pink to match her face. "You know, Malfoy, with the way you're always talking about Harry, anyone would think you were obsessed with him. What will daddy dearest say when he hears you doting over Harry? He's going to be downright pissed thinking that you're Harry's fangirl when he used to be right in with Voldemort."

"I'd watch it, Black," Malfoy spat, stepping close to Andromeda. "My dad isn't the only one in our family that joined up with the Dark Lord. Oh, yeah, my father told me all about being related to you. I'd remind you that your father too, served the Dark Lord. Yet here you are holding hands with Potter."

"At least I'm not a spineless coward running off to my father at the slightest inconveniences."

"How dare -"

"What's all this, what's all this?" Gilderoy Lockhart was striding toward them, his turquoise robes swirling behind him. "Who's giving out signed photos?" Harry started to speak but he was cut short as Lockhart flung an arm around his shoulders and thundered jovially, "Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!" Pinned to Lockhart's side and burning with humiliation was Harry. Andromeda saw Malfoy smirking. "Come on then, Mr. Creevey," said Lockhart, beaming at Colin. "A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll both sign it for you." Colin fumbled for his camera and took the picture as the bell rang behind them, signalling the start of afternoon classes. "Off you go, move along there," Lockhart called to the crowd, and he set off back to the castle with Harry.

Noah rounded on Andromeda as soon as Lockhart was out of sight. "You're related to Malfoy?"

But he didn't sound disgusted or mad.

"Surprise," Andromeda said dryly, turning on her heel and walking up to the castle, Dorcas, Noah, Ron and Hermione at her side.

The five of them filed into the classroom with the rest of their class, sitting down with Harry who was already there.

"You could've fried an egg on your face" said Ron to Harry. "You'd better hope Creevey doesn't meet Ginny, or they'll be starting a Harry Potter fan club."

"Shut up," snapped Harry.

When the whole class was seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly and silence fell. He reached forward, picked up Neville Longbottom's copy of Travels with Trolls, and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front.

"Me," he said, pointing at it and winking as well. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most- Charming-Smile Award - but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

He waited for them to laugh; a few people smiled weakly.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books -well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in -"

When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes - start - now!"

Andromeda looked down at her paper and chuckled darkly to herself, thinking of the endless possibilities of great answers:

1\. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?

Andromeda wrote, "Hopefully not the same as mine."

2\. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

Here, Andromeda answered with, "to rid the world of fake people such as himself."

3\. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

"Not his fashion style, that's for sure."

On and on it went, over three sides of paper, right down to:

21\. When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?

"His birthday is sometime during the year and his ideal gift is a good old punch in the face."

Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class.

"Tut, tut - hardly any of you remembered that my favourite colour is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully - I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples - though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogdeds Old Firewhisky!"

He gave them another roguish wink. Ron, Dorcas and Noah were now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on their faces; Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in front, were shaking with silent laughter. Hermione, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention and gave a start when he mentioned her name.

"...but Miss Hermione Granger knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions - good girl! In fact" - he flipped her paper over - "full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"

Hermione raised a trembling hand.

"Excellent!" beamed Lockhart. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And – oh my - where is Miss Andromeda Black?"

Andromeda's hand shot in the air and everyone turned to look at her.

"I think I'm going to have to take those points from Gryffindor, I'm afraid," Lockhart said shaking his head at her in disappointment. "Tell me, Miss Black, are you always this disrespectful to your professors?"

"Only to the ones who don't have my full respect," Andromeda said loudly. There were several gasps and Hermione looked like she was going to faint. "Take Snape for example, he is a git, so I treat him like one."

"And what would that make me?"

"A self-righteous git."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to talk to Professor McGonagall about your behaviour, Miss Black," Lockhart said, clearly offended. "And so - to business -"

He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.

"Now - be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

In spite of herself, Andromeda leaned around her pile of books for a better look at the cage. Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. Dean and Seamus had stopped laughing now. Neville was cowering in his front row seat.

"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them."

As the whole class held its breath, Lockhart whipped off the cover.

"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."

Seamus Finnigan couldn't control himself. He let out a snort of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror.

"Yes?" He smiled at Seamus.

"Well, they're not - they're not very - dangerous, are they?" Seamus choked.

"Don't be so sure!" said Lockhart, waggling a finger annoyingly at Seamus. "Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!"

The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing. The moment the cover had been removed, they had started jabbering and rocketing around, rattling the bars and making bizarre faces at the people nearest them.

"Right, then," Lockhart said loudly. "Let's see what you make of them!" And he opened the cage.

It was pandemonium. The pixies shot in every direction like rockets. Two of them seized Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air. Several shot straight through the window, showering the back row with broken glass. The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effectively than a rampaging rhino. They grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them, shredded books and papers, tore pictures from the walls, up-ended the waste basket, grabbed bags and books and threw them out of the smashed window; within minutes, half the class was sheltering under desks and Neville was swinging from the iron chandelier in the ceiling. Andromeda grabbed one of her books and started hitting the pixies away from her.

"Come on now - round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," Lockhart shouted.

He rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand, and bellowed, "Peskipiksi Pesternomi!"

It had absolutely no effect; one of the pixies seized his wand and threw it out of the window, too. Lockhart gulped and dived under his own desk, narrowly avoiding being squashed by Neville, who fell a second later as the chandelier gave way.

The bell rang and there was a mad rush toward the exit. In the relative calm that followed, Lockhart straightened up, caught sight of Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione, who were almost at the door, and said, "Well, I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him.

"Can you believe him?" roared Ron as one of the remaining pixies bit him painfully on the ear.

"He just wants to give us some hands-on experience," said Hermione, immobilizing two pixies at once with a clever Freezing Charm and stuffing them back into their cage.

"Hands on?" said Harry, who was trying to grab a pixie dancing out of reach with its tongue out. "Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing -"

"Rubbish," said Hermione. "You've read his books - look at all those amazing things he's done -"

"He says he's done," Andromeda muttered.

Later that day, Professor McGonagall hunted Andromeda down and told her to follow.

Ten minutes later, Andromeda sat on a chair in front of Professor McGonagall's desk being stared down my her professor.

"Is it true that you called Professor Lockhart a 'self-righteous git'?" Professor McGonagall said after what felt like forever.

"Oh come on, Professor!" Andromeda said, shooting out of her chair. "He's a fraud, he is. He set a cage full of pixies in the class today and didn't even know how to stop them. He ran out and left it to us. After his spell failed."

"Yes, Miss Black, I do not disagree with you. I myself am not at all fond of him, but that is no excuse to say such things to a teacher."

"I say worse things to Snape daily. Lockhart is just a fraud and sissy. He isn't going to teach us anything. He gave us a quiz and it was on himself. I don't care about what his favourite colour is. I want to learn about the subject, not him. I'm not going back to his class."

McGonagall sighed tiredly. "Please just be patient with him for now. I will see what I can do about the situation."

Ron's wand was still malfunctioning, surpassing itself on Friday morning by shooting out of Ron's hand in Charms and hitting tiny old Professor Flitwick squarely between the eyes, creating a large, throbbing green boil where it had struck. So with one thing and another, Andromeda was quite glad to reach the weekend. Her and her friends were planning to visit Hagrid on Saturday morning. Or was.

Professor McGonagall pulled her out of her Charms class on Friday and pushed a book into her hands.

"Read through this over the weekend," she said. "On Monday, you will be performing an exam at a second-year standard. If you pass the exam, you will not have to participate in Defence Against the Dark Arts and will have a spare period when the rest of your classmates have their class. This is your end of course exam, so you will not have one at the end of the year.

"Everything you need to know is in this book. You will take the exam during your break. Good luck to you."

So she had a new plan: study all weekend. Andromeda, however, was shaken awake several hours earlier than she would have liked by Angelina Johnson, one of the other Gryffindor Chasers.

"What?" Andromeda groaned groggily.

"Wood wants us up immediately for practice," she said. "He would have come himself, but boys aren't allowed in the girl's dorms."

Andromeda squinted at the window. There was a thin mist hanging across the pink-and-gold sky. Now that she was awake, she couldn't understand how she could have slept through the racket the birds were making.

"It's the crack of dawn."

"Come on. I'll meet you down stairs."

Sighing, Andromeda pulled on her scarlet Quidditch robes, grabbed her Nimbus Two Thousand, and sluggishly made her way downstairs.


	7. Chapter 7 - Mudbloods and Murmurs

**Chapter 7 - Mudbloods and Murmurs**

Angelina was waiting for her downstairs, like she had said she would. They walked past Harry and Colin Creevey towards the portrait hole.

"Harry, come on! First practice of the year," Andromeda said on her way out.

"Sorry, Colin, I'm in a hurry - Quidditch practice -"

He followed through the portrait hole and caught up with Andromeda and Angelina.

"Oh, wow! Wait for me! I've never watched a Quidditch game before!"

Colin scrambled through the hole after him.

"It'll be really boring," Harry said quickly, but Colin ignored him, his face shining with excitement.

"You were the youngest House player in a hundred years, weren't you, Harry? Weren't you?" said Colin, trotting alongside him. "You must be brilliant. I've never flown. Is it easy? Is that your own broom? Is that the best one there is?"

"Technically Andy is. She's two days younger than me," Harry said.

"It's true," Andromeda told Colin. "Harry's like an old man compared to my youth."

"Are you always like this?" Angelina asked amusedly.

Andromeda scoffed and said no, while Harry nodded at her vigorously.

"I don't really understand Quidditch," said Colin breathlessly. "Is it true there are four balls? And two of them fly around trying to knock people off their brooms?"

"Yes," said Harry heavily, resigned to explaining the complicated rules of Quidditch. "They're called Bludgers. There are two Beaters on each team who carry clubs to beat the Bludgers away from their side. Fred and George Weasley are the Gryffindor Beaters."

"And what are the other balls for?" Colin asked, tripping down a couple of steps because he was gazing open-mouthed at Harry.

"Well, the Quaffle - that's the biggish red one - is the one that scores goals. Three Chasers on each team throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through the goal posts at the end of the pitch - they're three long poles with hoops on the end. Andy and Angelina here are Chasers."

"And the fourth ball -"

"- is the Golden Snitch," said Harry, "and it's very small, very fast, and difficult to catch. But that's what the Seeker's got to do, because a game of Quidditch doesn't end until the Snitch has been caught. And whichever team's Seeker gets the Snitch earns his team an extra hundred and fifty points."

"And you're the Gryffindor Seeker, aren't you?" said Colin in awe.

"Yes," said Harry as they left the castle and started across the dew- drenched grass. "And there's the Keeper, too. He guards the goal posts. That's it, really."

But Colin didn't stop questioning Harry all the way down the sloping lawns to the Quidditch field, and Harry, Andromeda and Angelina only shook him off when he reached the changing rooms; Colin called after Harry in a piping voice, "I'll go and get a good seat, Harry!" and hurried off to the stands.

The rest of the Gryffindor team were already in the changing room. Wood was the only person who looked truly awake. Fred and George Weasley were sitting, puffy-eyed and tousle-haired, next to third-year Katie Bell, who seemed to be nodding off against the wall behind her.

"There you are, what kept you three?" said Wood briskly.

"The paparazzi," Andromeda explained.

"Uh, right. Now, I wanted a quick talk with you all before we actually get onto the field, because I spent the summer devising a whole new training program, which I really think will make all the difference ...

Wood was holding up a large diagram of a Quidditch field, on which were drawn many lines, arrows, and crosses in different coloured inks. He took out his wand, tapped the board, and the arrows began to wiggle over the diagram like caterpillars. As Wood launched into a speech about his new tactics, Fred Weasley's head drooped right onto Katie Bell's shoulder and he began to snore.

The first board took nearly twenty minutes to explain, but there was another board under that, and a third under that one. Andromeda sank into a stupor as Wood droned on and on.

"So," said Wood, at long last, jerking Andromeda from a wistful fantasy about what she could be eating for breakfast at this very moment up at the castle. "Is that clear? Any questions?"

"I've got a question, Oliver," said George, who had woken with a start. "Why couldn't you have told us all this yesterday when we were awake?"

Wood wasn't pleased.

"Now, listen here, you lot," he said, glowering at them all. "We should have won the Quidditch cup last year. We're easily the best team. But unfortunately -owing to circumstances beyond our control - "

Andromeda and Harry shifted guiltily in their seats. They had been unconscious in the hospital wing for the final match of the previous year, meaning that Gryffindor had been two players short and had suffered their worst defeat in three hundred years.

Wood took a moment to regain control of himself. Their last defeat was clearly still torturing him.

"So this year, we train harder than ever before ... Okay, let's go and put our new theories into practice!" Wood shouted, seizing his broomstick and leading the way out of the locker rooms. Stiff-legged and still yawning, his team followed.

They had been in the locker room so long that the sun was up completely now, although remnants of mist hung over the grass in the stadium. As Andromeda walked onto the field, she saw Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione sitting in the stands.

"Aren't you finished yet?" called Ron incredulously.

"Haven't even started," said Harry, looking jealously at the toast and marmalade they had brought out of the Great Hall. "Wood's been teaching us new moves."

They mounted their broomsticks and kicked at the ground, soaring up into the air. The cool morning air whipped Andromeda's face, waking her far more effectively than Wood's long talk. It felt wonderful to be back on the Quidditch field. She soared right around the stadium at full speed, racing Harry, Fred and George.

"What's that funny clicking noise?" called Fred as they hurtled around the corner.

Andromeda looked into the stands. Colin was sitting in one of the highest seats, his camera raised, taking picture after picture, the sound strangely magnified in the deserted stadium.

"Look this way, Harry! This way!" he cried shrilly.

"Who's that?" said Fred.

"No idea," Harry lied, putting on a spurt of speed that took him as far away as possible from Colin.

"What's going on?" said Wood, frowning, as he skimmed through the air toward them. "Why's that first year taking pictures? I don't like it. He could be a Slytherin spy, trying to find out about our new training program."

"He's in Gryffindor," said Harry quickly.

"And the Slytherins don't need a spy, Oliver," said George.

"What makes you say that?" said Wood testily.

"Because they're here in person," said Andromeda, pointing when she saw them.

Several people in green robes were walking onto the field, broomsticks in their hands.

"I don't believe it!" Wood hissed in outrage. "I booked the field for today! We'll see about this!"

Wood shot toward the ground, landing rather harder than he meant to in his anger, staggering slightly as he dismounted. Andromeda, Harry, Fred, and George followed.

"Flint!" Wood bellowed at the Slytherin Captain. "This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"

Marcus Flint was even larger than Wood. He had a look of trollish cunning on his face as he replied, "Plenty of room for all of us, Wood."

Angelina and Katie had come over, too. There were no girls on the Slytherin team, who stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the Gryffindors, leering to a man.

"But I booked the field!" said Wood, positively spitting with rage. "I booked it!"

"Ah," said Flint. "But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. `I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker."'

"You've got a new Seeker?" said Wood, distracted. "Where?"

And from behind the six large figures before them came a seventh, smaller boy, smirking all over his pale, pointed face. It was Draco Malfoy.

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" said Fred, looking at Malfoy with dislike.

"Yes he is," Andromeda said through gritted teeth.

"Funny you should mention Draco's father," said Flint as the whole Slytherin team smiled still more broadly. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team."

All seven of them held out their broomsticks. Seven highly polished, brand-new handles and seven sets of fine gold lettering spelling the words Nimbus Two Thousand and One gleamed under the Gryffindors' noses in the early morning sun.

"Very latest model. Only came out last month," said Flint carelessly, flicking a speck of dust from the end of his own. "I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps" - he smiled nastily at Fred and George, who were both clutching Cleansweep Fives - "sweeps the board with them."

None of the Gryffindor team could think of anything to say for a moment. Malfoy was smirking so broadly his cold eyes were reduced to slits.

"Oh, look," said Flint. "A field invasion."

Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione were crossing the grass to see what was going on.

"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?"

He was looking at Malfoy, taking in his Slytherin Quidditch robes.

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," said Malfoy, smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team.

Ron, Noah and Dorcas gaped, open-mouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of them.

"Good, aren't they?" said Malfoy smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."

The Slytherin team howled with laughter.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," said Hermione sharply. "They got in on pure talent."

The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered.

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat.

Andromeda gasped and made to punch Malfoy but Harry and Dorcas dragged her back away from Malfoy. She knew, from reading books last year, that 'Mudblood' was a foul word used for a Muggleborn, probably one of the most foulest words that could be used. Flint had to dive in front of Malfoy to stop Noah, Fred and George jumping on him, Angelina shrieked, "How dare you!"; and Ron plunged his hand into his robes, pulled out his wand, yelling, "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" and pointed it furiously under Flint's arm at Malfoys face.

A loud bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of green light shot out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him reeling backward onto the grass.

"Ron! Ron! Are you all right?" squealed Hermione.

Ron opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead he gave an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth onto his lap.

The Slytherin team were paralysed with laughter. Flint was doubled up, hanging onto his new broomstick for support. Malfoy was on all fours, banging the ground with his fist. The Gryffindors were gathered around Ron, who kept belching large, glistening slugs. Nobody seemed to want to touch him.

"We'd better get him to Hagrid's, it's nearest," said Harry to Andromeda, and the pair of them pulled Ron up by the arms.

"What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he ill? But you can cure him, can't you?" Colin had run down from his seat and was now dancing alongside them as they left the field. Ron gave a huge heave and more slugs dribbled down his front.

"Oooh," said Colin, fascinated and raising his camera. "Can you hold him still, Harry?"

"Get out of the way, Colin!" said Harry angrily. He and Andromeda supported Ron out of the stadium and across the grounds toward the edge of the forest, Hermione, Dorcas and Noah right behind them.

"Nearly there, Ron," said Hermione behind them as the gamekeeper's cabin came into view. "You'll be all right in a minute - almost there -"

They were within twenty feet of Hagrid's house when the front door opened, but it wasn't Hagrid who emerged. Gilderoy Lockhart, wearing robes of palest mauve today, came striding out.

"Quick, behind here," Harry hissed, dragging Ron behind a nearby bush. Hermione, Dorcas and Noah followed, though Hermione looked reluctant.

"It's a simple matter if you know what you're doing!" Lockhart was saying loudly to Hagrid. "If you need help, you know where I am! I'll let you have a copy of my book. I'm surprised you haven't already got one - I'll sign one tonight and send it over. Well, good-bye!" And he strode away toward the castle.

They waited until Lockhart was out of sight, then pulled Ron out of the bush and up to Hagrid's front door. They knocked urgently.

Hagrid appeared at once, looking very grumpy, but his expression brightened when he saw who it was.

"Bin wonderin' when you'd come ter see me - come in, come in - thought you mighta bin Professor Lockhart back again -"

Harry and Andromeda supported Ron over the threshold into the one-roomed cabin, which had an enormous bed in one corner, a fire crackling merrily in the other. Hagrid didn't seem perturbed by Ron's slug problem, which Harry hastily explained as Andromeda lowered Ron into a chair with some help from Noah.

"Better out than in," he said cheerfully, plunking a large copper basin in front of him. "Get 'em all up, Ron."

"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop," said Hermione anxiously, watching Ron bend over the basin. "That's a difficult curse to work at the best of times, but with a broken wand -"

Hagrid was bustling around making them tea. His boarhound, Fang, was slobbering over Harry.

"What did Lockhart want with you, Hagrid?" Dorcas asked, scratching Fang's ears.

"Givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of a well," growled

Hagrid, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and setting down the teapot. "Like I don' know. An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I'll eat my kettle."

It was most unlike Hagrid to criticize a Hogwarts' teacher, and Andromeda looked at him in admiration. Hermione, however, said in a voice somewhat higher than usual, "I think you're being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job -"

"He was the on' man for the job," said Hagrid, offering them a plate of treacle fudge, while Ron coughed squelchily into his basin. "An' I mean the on' one. Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' ter think it's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now. So tell me," said Hagrid, jerking his head at Ron. "Who was he tryin' ter curse?"

"Malfoy called Hermione something - it must've been really bad, because everyone went wild," Harry said.

"It was bad," said Dorcas. "Malfoy called her `Mudblood,' Hagrid -"

Hagrid looked outraged.

"He didn'!" he growled at Hermione.

"He did," she said. "But I don't know what it means. I could tell it was really rude, of course -"

"It's about the most insulting thing he could think of," gasped Ron, coming up from under the table. "Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born - you know, non-magic parents. There are some wizards - like Malfoy's family – er – not all of them, 'Dromeda - who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood." He gave a small burp, and a single slug fell into his outstretched hand. He threw it into the basin and continued, "I mean, the rest of us know it doesn't make any difference at all. Look at Neville Longbottom - he's pure-blood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up."

"An' they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can' do," said Hagrid proudly, making Hermione go a brilliant shade of magenta.

"It's a disgusting thing to call someone," said Noah.. "Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It's ridiculous. Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out."

Ron retched and ducked out of sight again.

"Well, I don' blame yeh fer tryin' ter curse him, Ron," said Hagrid loudly over the thuds of more slugs hitting the basin. "Bu' maybe it was a good thing yer wand backfired. 'Spect Lucius Malfoy would've come marchin' up ter school if yeh'd cursed his son. Least yer not in trouble."

"Harry," said Hagrid abruptly as though struck by a sudden thought. "Gotta bone ter pick with yeh. I've heard you've bin givin' out signed photos. How come I haven't got one?"

Andromeda started laughing.

"I have not been giving out signed photos," Harry said hotly. "If Lockhart's still spreading that around -"

But then he saw that Hagrid was laughing.

"I'm on'y jokin'," he said, patting Harry genially on the back and sending him face first into the table. "I knew yeh hadn't really. I told Lockhart yeh didn' need teh. Yer more famous than him without tryin'."

"Bet he didn't like that," said Harry, sitting up.

"Don' think he did," said Hagrid, his eyes twinkling. "An' then I told him I'd never read one o' his books an' he decided ter go. Treacle fudge, Ron?" he added as Ron reappeared.

"No thanks," said Ron weakly. "Better not risk it."

"Come an' see what I've bin growin'," said Hagrid as Andromeda, Harry, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione finished the last of their tea.

In the small vegetable patch behind Hagrid's house were a dozen of the largest pumpkins Andromeda had ever seen. Each was the size of a large boulder.

"Gettin' on well, aren't they?" said Hagrid happily. "Fer the Halloween feast ... should be big enough by then."

"What've you been feeding them?" said Harry.

Hagrid looked over his shoulder to check that they were alone.

"Well, I've bin givin' them - you know - a bit o' help -"

Andromeda noticed Hagrid's flowery pink umbrella leaning against the back wall of the cabin. Andromeda had had reason to believe before now that this umbrella was not all it looked; in fact, she had the strong impression that Hagrid's old school wand was concealed inside it. Hagrid wasn't supposed to use magic. He had been expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, but Andromeda had never found out why -any mention of the matter and Hagrid would clear his throat loudly and become mysteriously deaf until the subject was changed.

"An Engorgement Charm, I suppose?" said Dorcas, impressed. "Well, you've done a good job on them."

"That's what yer little sister said," said Hagrid, nodding at Ron. "Met her jus' yesterday." Hagrid looked sideways at Harry, his beard twitching. "Said she was jus' lookin' round the grounds, but I reckon she was hopin' she might run inter someone else at my house." He winked at Harry. "If yeh ask me, she wouldn' say no ter a signed -"

"Oh, shut up," said Harry. Andromeda, Noah, Dorcas, Ron snorted with laughter but then Ron sprayed with slugs.

"Watch it!" Hagrid roared, pulling Ron away from his precious pumpkins.

It was nearly lunchtime and Andromeda was keen to go back to school to eat. They said good-bye to Hagrid and walked back up to the castle, Ron hiccoughing occasionally, but only bringing up two very small slugs.

They had barely set foot in the cool entrance hall when a voice rang out, "There you are, Potter, Black, Weasley." Professor McGonagall was walking toward them, looking stern. "You will all do your detentions this evening."

"What're we doing, Professor?" said Ron, nervously suppressing a burp.

"You, Mr. Weasley, will be polishing the silver in the trophy room with Mr. Filch," said Professor McGonagall. "And no magic, Weasley - elbow grease."

Ron gulped. Argus Filch, the caretaker, was loathed by every student in the school.

"And you, Potter, will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail," said Professor McGonagall.

"Oh no - Professor, can't I go and do the trophy room, too?" said Harry desperately.

"Certainly not," said Professor McGonagall, raising her eyebrows. "Professor Lockhart requested you particularly. And Miss Black, you will be with me studying. Bring your book. Eight o'clock sharp, all of you."

Harry and Ron slouched into the Great Hall in states of deepest gloom, but Andromeda didn't mind. Firstly, her detention was with her favourite professor, and second, she was going to study anyway, this just gives her more time. Hermione sat looking at them all with an expression that clearly says that she thinks this is what is best for them.

"Filch'll have me there all night," said Ron heavily. "No magic! There must be about a hundred cups in that room. I'm no good at Muggle cleaning."

"I'd swap anytime," said Harry hollowly. "I've had loads of practice with the Dursleys. Answering Lockhart's fan mail... he'll be a nightmare..."

"What did McGonagall mean by studying?" Dorcas said to Andromeda.

"Yeah, and what's this book?" said Noah.

"Well," Andromeda said, slowly looking around at all five of her friend's faces who all seemed very interested in the topic. "You remember our first Defence lesson? How Lockhart said he was going to talk to McGonagall? Right, well I told her what I think of Lockhart and said that I wasn't going back to his class" – Hermione gasped loudly at this as though it personally offended her – "and so on Friday when she pulled me out of Charms, she handed me a book and said to read it and study. In it was all I needed to know for second-year standard in Defence and that I have an exam for it on Monday."

"So what happens after the exam?" Harry asked.

"If I pass, I don't have to be in Lockhart's class for the rest of the year and I get a spare period when you guys have Defence," Andromeda explained. Then she frowned. But if I fail, I have to stay in his class."

Saturday afternoon seemed to melt away, and in what seemed like no time, it was five minutes to eight, and Andromeda knocked on McGonagall's office door, her book in hand.

It was probably her most silent detention with Professor McGonagall; usually they talked and sometimes joked. Andromeda had even been able to get Professor McGonagall to laugh once and tell a joke of her own.

But this detention was filled with the scratching of Professor McGonagall's quills as she graded homework, and the sounds of paged turning as Andromeda made her way through the book, concentrating fully on every word and spell and picture.

But then Andromeda heard something quite different from the sounds she had endured for a whole four hours; it was a voice, a voice to chill the bone marrow, a voice of breathtaking, ice-cold venom.

"Come ... come to me... Let me rip you... Let me tear you... Let me kill you... ."

Andromeda gave a huge jump and looked around frantically.

"What?" she said loudly.

"Andromeda?" Professor McGonagall said worriedly. "Miss Black, is there something wrong?"

"The voice!" Andromeda said, standing up and looking around.

"What voice?"

"That - that voice that said - didn't you hear it?"

"Andromeda, no one said anything," Professor McGonagall said, standing up and walking over to a very hysterical looking Andromeda. She looked at Andromeda, concern all over her features.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Deathday Party

**Chapter 8 - The Deathday Party**

It was so late that the Gryffindor common room was almost empty. Andromeda hurried though the portrait hole and saw Harry almost at the step of the boy's dormitory.

"Harry!" Andromeda said, close to tears. "I have to talk to you."

"I need to talk to you, too," he said. He led her over to a couch in front of the fireplace and they sat down.

"I – I was in detention and I heard a – a voice," she said shakily. "But when I freaked out and told McGonagall, she said that she didn't hear anything. Oh, Harry, I think I'm going crazy!"

"You aren't going crazy, Andy," said Harry. "I heard a voice, too, but Lockhart said he didn't hear anything."

"You – you don't think it had anything to do with Voldemort, do you?"

"I don't know. My scar wasn't hurting."

"Mine neither, but Harry, if only _we_ heard it then what if it is him? I don't want him to – he can't –"

Harry cut her off with a hug. She wrapped her arms around him.

"We'll figure it out," Harry said reassuringly. Neither of them moved out of the embrace and they stayed like that until they fell asleep.

When they woke the next morning, their backs were sore and their friends where staring down at them.

"Why are you two down here?"

"How can anyone possibly fall asleep like that?"

"Are you two alright?"

Harry and Andromeda explained about the voice and how both Professor McGonagall and Lockhart heard it.

"Are you sure neither of them heard it?" Dorcas asked.

"Yes," Andromeda said. "McGonagall was looking at me like I was crazy."

"And it couldn't have been anyone invisible, either," said Ron. "They would still need to open doors."

"I don't get it," Noah said.

"Neither do we," said Harry.

They sauntered down to have a late breakfast in silence and no one spoke during breakfast either, not even when an owl landed on the table in front of Andromeda.

It wasn't an owl she had seen before and tied to its leg was an envelope with her name written in an unfamiliar scrawl, and a small package.

She untied them from the owl, who stayed seated on the table, and opened the letter.

 _Dear Andromeda Black,_

 _Sorry if this is drawing you away from your breakfast._

 _I am Andromeda Tonks. Your uncle, Remus, owled me the other day about your interest to know your family. I just want to let you know, that if it is alright with you, that myself, my husband, Ted, and our daughter, Nymphadora, are able to come to Hogwarts to see your first match of the season. Remus tells us that you are an amazing Chaser and it would be wonderful to see you play._

 _Wishing you are well,_

 _Andromeda Tonks_

She turned to the package and began opening it. Inside were some homemade chocolate brownies.

Andromeda ducked into her bag and brought out a quill and a piece of parchment. On the parchment, she wrote:

 _Dear Andromeda Tonks,_

 _Thank you for taking the time to come and see me. It would be more than okay with me if you wanted to come and watch the game._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Andromeda Black_

 _P.S. Thanks for the brownies._

She rolled the parchment up and tied it to the unknown owl's leg, which then flew off.

After breakfast and the brownies, Andromeda bid goodbye to her friends and headed off to the library to study. Last night she had gotten through most of the book, but she wondered if maybe there were some other books about the same things.

She was half-way to the library when she heard footsteps approaching her. She turned to see a puffed-out Harry running towards her.

"Figured you could use some company," said Harry as he tried catching his breath.

Eight hours later, Andromeda and Harry could be found in a corner of the library, hunched over many books, trying endlessly to help Andromeda thoroughly learn everything she needed for her exam the next day.

But Madam Pince, the librarian, had other plans for them. She ushered them out, telling them that the library was closed.

"I hate this," Andromeda said. "What if it isn't enough? I'll have to be stuck with Lockhart for the rest of the year!"

"Hey," Harry said, grabbing her hand. "You'll be fine. We just spent a whole day in the library learning everything. You know all about the spells, you just have to do them now. And you have all night for that."

There was a loud click on their way back to the Gryffindor tower, and looking around frantically in case it was another mysterious voice, they came face to face with Colin Creevey and his camera.

The next day found a worn-out Andromeda stumbling towards Professor McGonagall's office.

There were two halves of the exam; practical and written. For the written part of the exam, Andromeda had to indentify and explain creatures such as Murtlap and Clabberts. The practical side of the exam, however, Professor McGonagall turned a chair into a dummy, which Andromeda had to successfully cast spells such as the Jelly-Legs Jinx and the Tickling Charm.

Andromeda then attended her next class before returning to Professor McGonagall's office to receive her marks.

"Take a seat, Miss Black," Professor McGonagall said, gazing at Andromeda.

"Please tell me I didn't fail, Professor!" Andromeda exclaimed as she took a seat. "Harry and I studied in the library all day yesterday and I was up all night casting the spells."

"You passed," Professor McGonagall said, a smile working its way onto her lips.

"I – I did?" Andromeda said. "I don't have to go to Lockhart's class again?"

"I'm afraid not. Top marks, too. You are more clever than you think I should say."

"Aw, Minnie," Andromeda said, grinning from ear to ear. "I already know I'm clever."

"Yet you doubted yourself," Professor McGonagall said.

"We can't all be perfect."

October arrived, spreading a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Her Pepperup potion worked instantly, though it left the drinker smoking at the ears for several hours afterward. Ginny Weasley, who had been looking pale, was bullied into taking some by Percy. The steam pouring from under her vivid hair gave the impression that her whole head was on fire.

Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. Oliver Wood's enthusiasm for regular training sessions, however, was not dampened, which was why Harry and Andromeda were to be found, late one stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween, returning to Gryffindor Tower, drenched to the skin and splattered with mud...

Even aside from the rain and wind it hadn't been a happy practice session.

Fred and George, who had been spying on the Slytherin team, had seen for themselves the speed of those new Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. They reported that the Slytherin team was no more than seven greenish blurs, shooting through the air like missiles.

As Harry and Andromeda squelched along the deserted corridor they came across somebody who looked just as preoccupied as they were. Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, was staring morosely out of a window, muttering under his breath, "...don't fulfil their requirements... half an inch, if that..."

"Hello, Nick," said Harry.

"Hello, hello," said Nearly Headless Nick, starting and looking round. He wore a dashing, plumed hat on his long curly hair, and a tunic with a ruff, which concealed the fact that his neck was almost completely severed. He was pale as smoke, and Andromeda could see right through him to the dark sky and torrential rain outside.

"You two look troubled," said Nick, folding a transparent letter as he spoke and tucking it inside his doublet.

"So do you," said Andromeda.

"Ah," Nearly Headless Nick waved an elegant hand, "a matter of no importance... It's not as though I really wanted to join... Thought I'd apply, but apparently I 'don't fulfil requirements' -"

In spite of his airy tone, there was a look of great bitterness on his face.

"But you would think, wouldn't you," he erupted suddenly, pulling the letter back out of his pocket, "that getting hit forty-five times in the neck with a blunt axe would qualify you to join the Headless Hunt?"

"Oh - yes," said Harry.

"But you aren't _headless_ ," Andromeda said. "No offence, Nick."

"Ah, none taken young Black. I mean, nobody wishes more than I do that it had all been quick and clean, and my head had come off properly, I mean, it would have saved me a great deal of pain and ridicule. However -" Nearly Headless Nick shook his letter open and read furiously: _"'We can only accept huntsmen whose heads have parted company with their bodies. You will appreciate that it would be impossible otherwise for members to participate in hunt activities such as Horseback Head-Juggling and Head Polo. It is with the greatest regret, therefore, that I must inform you that you do not fulfil our requirements._

 _With very best wishes, Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore.'"_

Fuming, Nearly Headless Nick stuffed the letter away.

"Half an inch of skin and sinew holding my neck on! Most people would think that's good and beheaded, but oh, no, it's not enough for Sir Properly Decapitated-Podmore."

Nearly Headless Nick took several deep breaths and then said, in a far calmer tone, "So - what's bothering you two? Anything I can do?"

"No," said Harry. "Not unless you know where we can get seven free Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones for our match against Sly -"

The rest of Harry's sentence was drowned out by a high-pitched mewling from somewhere near Andromeda's ankles. She looked down and found herself gazing into a pair of lamp-like yellow eyes. It was Mrs. Norris, the skeletal gray cat who was used by the caretaker, Argus Filch, as a sort of deputy in his endless battle against students.

"You'd better get out of here, you two," said Nick quickly. "Filch isn't in a good mood - he's got the flu and some third years accidentally plastered frog brains all over the ceiling in dungeon five. He's been cleaning all morning, and if he sees you dripping mud all over the place -"

"Right," said Andromeda, backing away from the accusing stare of Mrs. Norris, but not quickly enough. Drawn to the spot by the mysterious power that seemed to connect him with his foul cat, Argus Filch burst suddenly through a tapestry to their right, wheezing and looking wildly about for the rule-breaker.

There was a thick tartan scarf bound around his head, and his nose was unusually purple.

"Filth!" he shouted, his jowls aquiver, his eyes popping alarmingly as he pointed at the muddy puddle that had dripped from Harry's and Andromeda's Quidditch robes.

"Mess and muck everywhere! I've had enough of it, I tell you! Follow me!"

So Harry and Andromeda waved a gloomy good-bye to Nearly Headless Nick and followed Filch back downstairs, doubling the number of muddy footprints on the floor.

Andromeda had been in Filch's office a few times before and it hasn't changed. The room was dingy and windowless, lit by a single oil lamp dangling from the low ceiling. A faint smell of fried fish lingered about the place. A highly polished collection of chains and manacles hung on the wall behind Filch's desk. It was common knowledge that he was always begging Dumbledore to let him suspend students by their ankles from the ceiling. Wooden filing cabinets stood around the walls; from their labels, Andromeda could see that they contained details of every pupil Filch had ever punished. Andromeda, Fred and George Weasley had an entire drawer to themselves. Andromeda felt proud of her achievement. Last year, she had been given a detention for nearly every single night from September to April. There were a few after that, but those were the bulk of it.

Filch grabbed a quill from a pot on his desk and began shuffling around looking for parchment.

"Dung," he muttered furiously, "great sizzling dragon bogies... frog brains... rat intestines... I've had enough of it... make an example... where's the form... yes..."

He retrieved a large roll of parchment from his desk drawer and stretched it out in front of him, dipping his long black quill into the ink pot.

"Names... Harry Potter... Andromeda Black. Crime..."

"It was only a bit of mud!" said Harry.

"It's only a bit of mud to you, boy, but to me it's an extra hour scrubbing!" shouted Filch, a drip shivering unpleasantly at the end of his bulbous nose.

"Just go with it," Andromeda said, nudging Harry.

"Crime... befouling the castle... suggested sentence..."

Dabbing at his streaming nose, Filch squinted unpleasantly at Harry and Andromeda.

"What is that in your pocket, Black?" Filch said suddenly.

"Spare bit of parchment," Andromeda replied nonchalantly.

"Give it to me."

"What would you need a bit of parchment for?"

But when he stood up, she took the parchment out of her pocket. It was the Marauder's Map, really, which was an enchanted piece of parchment which could show a map of Hogwarts and everyone in it. Her father, Remus, Harry's father, and Noah's father had made it during their time at Hogwarts. Andromeda had stolen it from Filch's office last year while she was in detention.

"That is not yours!" Filch exclaimed, his eyes bulging as he looked at the parchment. He snatched it off her.

As Filch turned to put the Map on his desk, there was a great BANG! on the ceiling of the office, which made the oil lamp rattle.

"PEEVES!" Filch roared, flinging down his quill in a transport of rage. "I'll have you this time, I'll have you!"

And without a backward glance at Harry, Filch ran flat-footed from the office still holding the Map, Mrs. Norris streaking alongside him.

Peeves was the school poltergeist, a grinning, airborne menace who lived to cause havoc and distress. Andromeda liked Peeves a lot, had pulled pranks with him even, and was feeling grateful for his timing since she was probably no longer getting a detention, but she felt as though he could have been slightly earlier so that she would still have the Map. Hopefully, whatever Peeves had done (and it sounded as though he'd wrecked something very big this time) would distract Filch from Harry and Andromeda.

Thinking that they should probably wait for Filch to come back, Harry and Andromeda sank into moth-eaten chairs next to the desk. There was only one thing on Harry's chair apart from his half-completed form: a large, glossy, purple envelope with silver lettering on the front. With a quick glance at the door to check that Filch wasn't on his way back, Harry picked up the envelope.

He beckoned Andromeda over and she read: kwikspell A Correspondence Course in Beginners' Magic.

Intrigued, Andromeda flicked the envelope open and pulled out the sheaf of parchment inside. More curly silver writing on the front page said: _Feel out of step in the world of modern magic? Find yourself making excuses not to perform simple spells? Ever been taunted for your woeful wandwork? There is an answer! Kwikspell is an all-new, fail-safe, quick-result, easy-learn course. Hundreds of witches and wizards have benefited from the Kwikspell method! Madam Z. Nettles of Topsham writes: "I had no memory for incantations and my potions were a family joke! Now, after a Kwikspell course, I am the center of attention at parties and friends beg for the recipe of my Scintillation Solution!" Warlock D. J. Prod of Didsbury says: "My wife used to sneer at my feeble charms, but one month into your fabulous Kwikspell course and I succeeded in turning her into a yak! Thank you, Kwikspell!"_

Fascinated, Harry and Andromeda thumbed through the rest of the envelope's contents. Why on earth did Filch want a Kwikspell course? Did this mean he wasn't a proper wizard? They were just reading "Lesson One: Holding Your Wand (Some Useful Tips)" when shuffling footsteps outside told him Filch was coming back. Stuffing the parchment back into the envelope, Harry threw it back onto the desk just as the door opened.

Filch was looking triumphant.

"That vanishing cabinet was extremely valuable!" he was saying gleefully to Mrs. Norris. "We'll have Peeves out this time, my sweet -"

His eyes fell on Harry and Andromeda and then darted to the Kwikspell envelope, which, Andromeda realized too late, was lying two feet away from where it had started.

Filch's pasty face went brick red. Andromeda braced herself for a tidal wave of fury. Filch hobbled across to his desk, snatched up the envelope, and threw it into a drawer.

"Have you - did you read -?" he sputtered.

"No," Harry lied quickly.

Filch's knobbly hands were twisting together.

"If I thought you'd read my private - not that it's mine - for a friend - be that as it may - however -"

Andromeda was staring at him, alarmed; Filch had never looked madder. His eyes were popping, a tic was going in one of his pouchy cheeks, and the tartan scarf didn't help.

"Very well - go - and don't breathe a word - not that - however, if you didn't read - go now, I have to write up Peeves' report - go -"

Amazed at their luck, Harry and Andromeda sped out of the office, up the corridor, and back upstairs. To escape from Filch's office without punishment was probably some kind of school record.

"Harry! Andromeda! Did it work?"

Nearly Headless Nick came gliding out of a classroom. Behind him, Andromeda could see the wreckage of a large black-and-gold cabinet that appeared to have been dropped from a great height.

"I persuaded Peeves to crash it right over Filch's office," said Nick eagerly. "Thought it might distract him -"

"Was that you?" said Andromeda gratefully. "Yeah, it worked, we didn't even get detention. Thanks, Nick!"

They set off up the corridor together. Nearly Headless Nick, Andromeda noticed, was still holding Sir Patrick's rejection letter...

"I wish there was something we could do for you about the Headless Hunt," Harry said.

Nearly Headless Nick stopped in his tracks and Andromeda walked right through him. She wished she hadn't; it was like stepping through an icy shower.

"But there is something you could do for me," said Nick excitedly. "Harry, Andromeda - would I be asking too much - but no, you wouldn't want -"

"What is it?" said Harry.

"Well, this Halloween will be my five hundredth deathday," said Nearly Headless Nick, drawing himself up and looking dignified.

"Oh," said Harry.

"Right," Andromeda said.

"I'm holding a party down in one of the roomier dungeons. Friends will be coming from all over the country. It would be such an honour if you two would attend. Mr. Weasley, Miss Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew and Miss Granger would be most welcome, too, of course - but I daresay you'd rather go to the school feast?" He watched Harry and Andromeda on tenterhooks.

"No," said Harry quickly, "We'll come -"

"My dears! Harry Potter and Andromeda Black, at my deathday party! And" - he hesitated, looking excited - "do you think you two could possibly mention to Sir Patrick how very frightening and impressive you find me?"

"Of course," said Andromeda.

Nearly Headless Nick beamed at them.

"A deathday party?" said Hermione keenly when Harry and Andromeda had changed at last and joined her, Dorcas, Noah and Ron in the common room. "I bet there aren't many living people who can say they've been to one of those - it'll be fascinating!"

"Why would anyone want to celebrate the day they died?" said Ron, who was halfway through his Potions homework and grumpy. "Sounds dead depressing to me..."

Rain was still lashing the windows, which were now inky black, but inside all looked bright and cheerful. The firelight glowed over the countless squashy armchairs where people sat reading, talking, doing homework or, in the case of Fred and George Weasley, trying to find out what would happen if you fed a Filibuster firework to a salamander. Fred had "rescued" the brilliant orange, fire-dwelling lizard from a Care of Magical Creatures class and it was now smouldering gently on a table surrounded by a knot of curious people.

Harry and Andromeda were at the point of telling Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione about Filch and the Kwikspell course when the salamander suddenly whizzed into the air, emitting loud sparks and bangs as it whirled wildly round the room. The sight of Percy bellowing himself hoarse at Fred and George, the spectacular display of tangerine stars showering from the salamander's mouth, and its escape into the fire, with accompanying explosions, drove both Filch and the Kwikspell envelope from Andromeda's mind.

By the time Halloween arrived, Harry and Andromeda were regretting their rash promise to go to the deathday party. The rest of the school was happily anticipating their Halloween feast; the Great Hall had been decorated with the usual live bats, Hagrid's vast pumpkins had been carved into lanterns large enough for three men to sit in, and there were rumours that Dumbledore had booked a troupe of dancing skeletons for the entertainment.

"A promise is a promise," Dorcas reminded them. "You said you'd go to the deathday party."

So at seven o'clock, Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione walked straight past the doorway to the packed Great Hall, which was glittering invitingly with gold plates and candles, and directed their steps instead toward the dungeons.

The passageway leading to Nearly Headless Nick's party had been lined with candles, too, though the effect was far from cheerful: These were long, thin, jet-black tapers, all burning bright blue, casting a dim, ghostly light even over their own living faces. The temperature dropped with every step they took. As Andromeda shivered and drew her robes tightly around her, she heard what sounded like a thousand fingernails scraping an enormous blackboard.

"Is that supposed to be music?" Ron whispered. They turned a corner and saw Nearly Headless Nick standing at a doorway hung with black velvet drapes.

"My dear friends," he said mournfully. "Welcome, welcome... so pleased you could come..."

He swept off his plumed hat and bowed them inside.

It was an incredible sight. The dungeon was full of hundreds of pearly-white, translucent people, mostly drifting around a crowded dance floor, waltzing to the dreadful, quavering sound of thirty musical saws, played by an orchestra on a raised, black-draped platform. A chandelier overhead blazed midnight-blue with a thousand more black candles. Their breath rose in a mist before them; it was like stepping into a freezer.

"Shall we have a look around?" Noah suggested.

"Careful not to walk through anyone," said Andromeda nervously, and they set off around the edge of the dance floor. They passed a group of gloomy nuns, a ragged man wearing chains, and the Fat Friar, a cheerful Hufflepuff ghost, who was talking to a knight with an arrow sticking out of his forehead. Andromeda wasn't surprised to see that the Bloody Baron, a gaunt, staring Slytherin ghost covered in silver bloodstains, was being given a wide berth by the other ghosts.

"Oh, no," said Hermione, stopping abruptly. "Turn back, turn back, I don't want to talk to Moaning Myrtle -"

"Who?" said Harry as they backtracked quickly.

"She haunts one of the toilets in the girls' bathroom on the first floor," said Dorcas.

"She haunts a toilet?" Andromeda asked. How did she not know about this?

"Yes. It's been out-of-order all year because she keeps having tantrums and flooding the place. I never went in there anyway if I could avoid it; it's awful trying to have a pee with her wailing at you -"

"Look, food!" said Ron.

On the other side of the dungeon was a long table, also covered in black velvet. They approached it eagerly but next moment had stopped in their tracks, horrified. The smell was quite disgusting. Large, rotten fish were laid on handsome silver platters; cakes, burned charcoal-black, were heaped on salvers; there was a great maggoty haggis, a slab of cheese covered in furry green mould and, in pride of place, an enormous gray cake in the shape of a tombstone, with tar-like icing forming the words, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington died 31st October, 1492 Andromeda watched, amazed, as a portly ghost approached the table, crouched low, and walked through it, his mouth held wide so that it passed through one of the stinking salmon.

"Can you taste it if you walk though it?" Harry asked him.

"Almost," said the ghost sadly, and he drifted away.

"I expect they've let it rot to give it a stronger flavour," said Hermione knowledgeably, pinching her nose and leaning closer to look at the putrid haggis.

"Can we move? I feel sick," said Noah.

They had barely turned around, however, when a little man swooped suddenly from under the table and came to a halt in midair before them.

"Hey, Peeves," Andromeda said cheerfully.

Unlike the ghosts around them, Peeves the Poltergeist was the very reverse of pale and transparent. He was wearing a bright orange party hat, a revolving bow tie, and a broad grin on his wide, wicked face.

"Nibbles?" he said sweetly, offering them a bowl of peanuts covered in fungus.

"No thanks," said Hermione.

"Heard you talking about poor Myrtle," said Peeves, his eyes dancing.

"Rude you was about poor Myrtle." He took a deep breath and bellowed, "OI! MYRTLE!"

"Oh, no, Peeves, don't tell her what I said, she'll be really upset," Hermione whispered frantically. "I didn't mean it, I don't mind her - er, hello, Myrtle."

The squat ghost of a girl had glided over. She had the glummest face Andromeda had ever seen, half-hidden behind lank hair and thick, pearly spectacles.

"What?" she said sulkily.

"How are you, Myrtle?" said Dorcas in a falsely bright voice. "It's nice to see you out of the toilet."

Myrtle sniffed.

"Miss Granger was just talking about you -" said Peeves slyly in Myrtle's ear.

"Just saying - saying - how nice you look tonight," said Hermione, glaring at Peeves.

Myrtle eyed Hermione suspiciously.

"You're making fun of me," she said, silver tears welling rapidly in her small, see-through eyes.

"No - honestly - didn't I just say how nice Myrtle's looking?" said Hermione, nudging Ron and Noah painfully in the ribs.

"Oh, yeah -"

"She did -"

"Don't lie to me," Myrtle gasped, tears now flooding down her face, while Peeves chuckled happily over her shoulder. "D'you think I don't know what people call me behind my back? Fat Myrtle! Ugly Myrtle! Miserable, moaning, moping Myrtle!"

"You've forgotten pimply," Peeves hissed in her ear.

Moaning Myrtle burst into anguished sobs and fled from the dungeon.

Peeves shot after her, pelting her with mouldy peanuts, yelling, "Pimply! Pimply!"

"Oh, dear," said Hermione sadly.

Nearly Headless Nick now drifted toward them through the crowd.

"Enjoying yourselves?"

"Oh, yes," they lied.

"Not a bad turnout," said Nearly Headless Nick proudly. "The Wailing Widow came all the way up from Kent... It's nearly time for my speech, I'd better go and warn the orchestra..."

The orchestra, however, stopped playing at that very moment. They, and everyone else in the dungeon, fell silent, looking around in excitement, as a hunting horn sounded.

"Oh, here we go," said Nearly Headless Nick bitterly.

Through the dungeon wall burst a dozen ghost horses, each ridden by a headless horseman. The assembly clapped wildly; Andromeda started to clap, too, but stopped quickly at the sight of Nick's face.

The horses galloped into the middle of the dance floor and halted, rearing and plunging. At the front of the pack was a large ghost who held his bearded head under his arm, from which position he was blowing the horn.

The ghost leapt down, lifted his head high in the air so he could see over the crowd (everyone laughed), and strode over to Nearly Headless Nick, squashing his head back onto his neck.

"Nick!" he roared. "How are you? Head still hanging in there?"

He gave a hearty guffaw and clapped Nearly Headless Nick on the shoulder.

"Welcome, Patrick," said Nick stiffly.

"Live 'uns!" said Sir Patrick, spotting Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione and giving a huge, fake jump of astonishment, so that his head fell off again (the crowd howled with laughter).

"Very amusing," said Nearly Headless Nick darkly.

"Don't mind Nick!" shouted Sir Patrick's head from the floor. "Still upset we won't let him join the Hunt! But I mean to say - look at the fellow -"

"I think," said Harry hurriedly, at a meaningful look from Nick, "Nick's very - frightening and - er -"

"Ha!" yelled Sir Patrick's head. "Bet he asked you to say that!"

"Actually, no," Andromeda said. "Nick isn't scary, but neither are you. Nick is ten times the ghost you are."

"If I could have everyone's attention, it's time for my speech!" said Nearly Headless Nick loudly, striding toward the podium and climbing into an icy blue spotlight. He shot a grateful smile towards Harry and Andromeda.

"My late lamented lords, ladies, and gentlemen, it is my great sorrow..."

But nobody heard much more. Sir Patrick and the rest of the Headless Hunt had just started a game of Head Hockey and the crowd were turning to watch. Nearly Headless Nick tried vainly to recapture his audience, but gave up as Sir Patrick's head went sailing past him to loud cheers.

Andromeda was very cold by now, not to mention hungry.

"I can't stand much more of this," Ron muttered, his teeth chattering, as the orchestra ground back into action and the ghosts swept back onto the dance floor.

"Let's go," Harry agreed.

They backed toward the door, nodding and beaming at anyone who looked at them, and a minute later were hurrying back up the passageway full of black candles.

"Pudding might not be finished yet," said Dorcas hopefully, leading the way toward the steps to the entrance hall.

And then Andromeda heard it.

"...rip... tear... kill..."

It was the same voice, the same cold, murderous voice she had heard in Professor McGonagall's office.

She stopped dead in her tracks and Harry stumbled to a halt, clutching at the stone wall. Listening with all her might, she looked around, squinting up and down the dimly lit passageway.

"Harry, what're you -?"

"'Dromeda? Are you -"

"It's that voice again - shut up a minute -"

"...soo hungry... for so long..."

"Listen!" said Andromeda urgently, and Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione froze, watching her and Harry.

"...kill... time to kill..."

The voice was growing fainter. Andromeda was sure it was moving away - moving upward. A mixture of fear and excitement gripped her as she stared at the dark ceiling; how could it be moving upward? Was it a phantom, to whom stone ceilings didn't matter?

She caught Harry's eye and they started sprinting.

"This way," Harry shouted to the others, and they began to run, up the stairs, into the entrance hall. It was no good hoping to hear anything here, the babble of talk from the Halloween feast was echoing out of the Great Hall. Harry sprinted up the marble staircase to the first floor, Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione clattering behind them.

"Guys, what're we -"

"SHH!"

Andromeda strained her ears. Distantly, from the floor above, and growing fainter still, she heard the voice: "...I smell blood... I SMELL BLOOD!"

Her stomach lurched - "It's going to kill someone!" she shouted, and ignoring Ron's, Noah's, Dorcas' and Hermione's bewildered faces, she and Harry ran up the next flight of steps three at a time, trying to listen over their own pounding footsteps – Harry and Andromeda hurtled around the whole of the second floor, Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione panting behind them, not stopping until they turned a corner into the last, deserted passage.

"Harry, 'Dromeda, what was that all about?" said Dorcas, wiping sweat off her face. "I couldn't hear anything..."

But Hermione gave a sudden gasp, pointing down the corridor.

"Look!"

Something was shining on the wall ahead. They approached slowly, squinting through the darkness. Foot-high words had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches: _The chamber of secrets has been opened. enemies of the heir, beware._

"What's that thing - hanging underneath?" said Ron, a slight quiver in his voice.

As they edged nearer, Andromeda almost slipped - there was a large puddle of water on the floor; Harry grabbed her, and they inched toward the message, eyes fixed on a dark shadow beneath it. All six of them realized what it was at once, and leapt backward with a splash.. Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat, was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring.

For a few seconds, they didn't move. Then Noah said, "Let's get out of here."

"Shouldn't we try and help -" Andromeda began awkwardly.

"Trust me," said Ron. "We don't want to be found here."

But it was too late. A rumble, as though of distant thunder, told them that the feast had just ended. From either end of the corridor where they stood came the sound of hundreds of feet climbing the stairs, and the loud, happy talk of well-fed people; next moment, students were crashing into the passage from both ends.

The chatter, the bustle, the noise died suddenly as the people in front spotted the hanging cat. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione stood alone, in the middle of the corridor, as silence fell among the mass of students pressing forward to see the grisly sight.

Then someone shouted through the quiet.

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

It was Draco Malfoy. He had pushed to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes alive, his usually bloodless face flushed, as he grinned at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Writing on the Wall

**Chapter 9 - The Writing on the Wall**

"What's going on here? What's going on?" Attracted no doubt by Malfoy's shout, Argus Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd. Then he saw Mrs. Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.

And his popping eyes fell on Harry and Andromeda who were closest.

"You!"he screeched. "You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you both! I'll -"

"Argus!"

Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione and detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch. "You, too, Mr. Potter, , Miss Black, Miss Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster - just upstairs - please feel free -"

"Thank you, Gilderoy," said Dumbledore.

The silent crowd parted to let them pass. Lockhart, looking excited and important, hurried after Dumbledore; so did Professors McGonagall and Snape.

As they entered Lockhart's darkened office there was a flurry of movement across the walls; Andromeda saw several of the Lockharts in the pictures dodging out of sight, their hair in rollers. The real Lockhart lit the candles on his desk and stood back. Dumbledore lay Mrs. Norris on the polished surface and began to examine her. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione exchanged tense looks and sank into chairs outside the pool of candlelight, watching.

The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur. He was looking at her closely through his half-moon spectacles, his long fingers gently prodding and poking. Professor McGonagall was bent almost as close, her eyes narrowed. Snape loomed behind them, half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression: It was as though he was trying hard not to smile. And Lockhart was hovering around all of them, making suggestions.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her - probably the Transmogrifian Torture - I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very counter-curse that would have saved her..."

Lockhart's comments were punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. He was slumped in a chair by the desk, unable to look at Mrs. Norris, his face in his hands. Much as she detested Filch, Andromeda couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him, though not nearly as sorry as she felt for herself if Dumbledore believed Filch, she would be expelled for sure.

Dumbledore was now muttering strange words under his breath and tapping Mrs. Norris with his wand but nothing happened: She continued to look as though she had been recently stuffed.

"...I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadogou," said Lockhart, "a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once..."

The photographs of Lockhart on the walls were all nodding in agreement as he talked. One of them had forgotten to remove his hair net.

At last Dumbledore straightened up.

"She's not dead, Argus," he said softly.

Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he had prevented.

"Not dead?" choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all - all stiff and frozen?"

"She has been petrified," said Dumbledore ("Ah! I thought so!" said Lockhart). "But how, I cannot say..."

"Ask them!" shrieked Filch, turning his blotched and tearstained face to Harry and Andromeda.

"No second year could have done this," said Dumbledore firmly. "It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced -"

"They did it, they did it!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. "You saw what they wrote on the wall! They found - in my office - they know I'm a - I'm a -" Filch's face worked horribly. "They know I'm a Squib!" he finished.

"We never touched Mrs. Norris!" Harry said loudly.

"What the hell is a Squib?" Andromeda asked.

"Rubbish!" snarled Filch. "They saw my Kwikspell letter!"

"If I might speak, Headmaster," said Snape from the shadows, and Andromeda's sense of foreboding increased; she was sure nothing Snape had to say was going to do them any good.

"Potter, Black and their friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said, a slight sneer curling his mouth as though he doubted it. "But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why were they in the upstairs corridor at all? Why weren't they at the Halloween feast?"

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron and Hermione all launched into an explanation about the deathday party. "...there were hundreds of ghosts, they'll tell you we were there -"

"But why not join the feast afterward?" said Snape, his black eyes glittering in the candlelight. "Why go up to that corridor?"

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry.

"Because - because -" Harry said, his heart thumping very fast; something told him it would sound very far-fetched if he told them he had been led there by a bodiless voice no one but he could hear, "because we were tired and wanted to go to bed," he said.

"Without any supper?" said Snape, a triumphant smile flickering across his gaunt face. "I didn't think ghosts provided food fit for living people at their parties."

"We weren't hungry," said Ron loudly as his stomach gave a huge rumble.

Snape's nasty smile widened.

"I suggest, Headmaster, that Potter is not being entirely truthful," he said. "It might be a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges until he is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel he should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest."

"Really, Severus," said Professor McGonagall sharply, "I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick. There is no evidence at all that Potter has done anything wrong."

"It was my fault!" Andromeda burst out. Everyone looked at her. "I was feeling sick. Snape, I trust you know what time of the month it is?"

"Andy," Harry said suddenly. "You don't have to -"

"What are you talking about, Black?" Snape snarled.

"The full moon is barely two weeks away and I was feeling under the weather," Andromeda said. "After the deathday party I told everyone that I wasn't feeling well and they were accompanying me to the hospital wing."

"Then why, Miss Black," Snape said. "Did they not tell us that that was where you were really headed?"

"You make the potion for Madam Pomfrey. Don't act like you don't know I've had to take it. I didn't want anyone to know why I was sick."

"Do you seriously believe this, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore was giving Harry and Andromeda searching looks. His twinkling light-blue gaze made Andromeda feel as though she were being X-rayed.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said firmly.

Snape looked furious. So did Filch.

"My cat has been petrified!" he shrieked, his eyes popping. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," said Dumbledore patiently. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep -"

"Excuse me," said Snape icily. "But I believe I am the Potions master at this school."

There was a very awkward pause.

"You may go," Dumbledore said to Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione.

They went, as quickly as they could without actually running. When they were a floor up from Lockhart's office, they turned into an empty classroom and closed the door quietly behind them.

"D'you think we should have told them about that voice we heard?"

"No," said Noah, without hesitation. "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world."

Something in Noah's voice made Andromeda ask, "You do believe us, don't you?"

"'Course I do," said Noah quickly. "But -you must admit it's weird..."

"We know it's weird," said Harry. "The whole thing's weird. What was that writing on the wall about? The Chamber Has Been Opened... What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, it rings a sort of bell," said Ron slowly. "I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once... might've been Bill..."

"And what on earth's a Squib?" said Andromeda.

To her surprise, Ron stifled a snigger.

"Well - it's not funny really - but as it's Filch," he said. "A Squib is someone who was born into a wizarding family but hasn't got any magic powers. Kind of the opposite of Muggle-born wizards, but Squibs are quite unusual. If Filch's trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell course, I reckon he must be a Squib. It would explain a lot. Like why he hates students so much." Ron gave a satisfied smile. "He's bitter."

"What potion were you talking to Professor Snape about, Andromeda?" Hermione asked.

Andromeda hesitated. She thought of telling them. Harry knew, it wasn't fair that the rest of her friends didn't. But she knew she couldn't. Now was not the time to discuss it.

A clock chimed somewhere.

"Midnight," said Harry. "We'd better get to bed before Snape comes along and tries to frame us for something else."

For a few days, the school could talk of little else but the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch kept it fresh in everyone's minds by pacing the spot where she had been attacked, as though he thought the attacker might come back. Andromeda had seen him scrubbing the message on the wall with Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, but to no effect; the words still gleamed as brightly as ever on the stone. When Filch wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he was skulking red-eyed through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like "breathing loudly" and "looking happy."

Ginny Weasley seemed very disturbed by Mrs. Norris's fate. According to Ron, she was a great cat lover.

"But you haven't really got to know Mrs. Norris," Ron told her bracingly. "Honestly, we're much better off without her." Ginny's lip trembled. "Stuff like this doesn't often happen at Hogwarts," Ron assured her. "They'll catch the maniac who did it and have him out of here in no time. I just hope he's got time to petrify Filch before he's expelled. I'm only joking -" Ron added hastily as Ginny blanched.

The attack had also had an effect on Hermione. It was quite usual for Hermione to spend a lot of time reading, but she was now doing almost nothing else. Nor could Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron get much response from her when they asked what she was up to, and not until the following Wednesday did they find out.

Harry and Andromeda had been held back in Potions, where Snape had made them stay behind to scrape tubeworms off the desks. After a hurried lunch, they went upstairs to meet Ron in the library, and saw Justin Finch-Fletchley, the Hufflepuff boy from Herbology, coming toward them. Andromeda had just opened her mouth to say hello when Justin caught sight of them, turned abruptly, and sped off in the opposite direction.

Harry and Andromeda found Dorcas, Noah and Ron in the back of the library. Ron was measuring his History of Magic homework. Professor Binns had asked for a three-foot-long composition on "The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards."

"I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches short," said Ron furiously, letting go of his parchment, which sprang back into a roll. "And Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's tiny."

"Where is she?" asked Harry, grabbing the tape measure and unrolling his own homework.

"Somewhere over there," said Noah, pointing along the shelves. "Looking for another book. I think she's trying to read the whole library before Christmas."

Harry told Ron about Justin Finch-Fletchley running away from them.

"Dunno why you care. I thought he was a bit of an idiot," said Dorcas, scribbling away, making his writing as large as possible. "All that junk about Lockhart being so great -"

Hermione emerged from between the bookshelves. She looked irritable and at last seemed ready to talk to them.

"All the copies of _Hogwarts, A History_ have been taken out," she said, sitting down next to them. "And there's a two-week waiting list. I wish I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books."

"Why do you want it?" said Andromeda.

"The same reason everyone else wants it," said Hermione, "to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets."

"What's that?" said Harry quickly.

"That's just it. I can't remember," said Hermione, biting her lip. "And I can't find the story anywhere else -"

"Hermione, let me read your composition," said Ron desperately, checking his watch.

"No, I won't," said Hermione, suddenly severe. "You've had ten days to finish it -"

"I only need another two inches, come on -"

The bell rang. Ron and Hermione led their way to History of Magic, bickering.

History of Magic was the dullest subject on their schedule. Professor Binns, who taught it, was their only ghost teacher, and the most exciting thing that ever happened in his classes was his entering the room through the blackboard. Ancient and shrivelled, many people said he hadn't noticed he was dead. He had simply got up to teach one day and left his body behind him in an armchair in front of the staff room fire; his routine had not varied in the slightest since.

Today was as boring as ever. Professor Binns opened his notes and began to read in a flat drone like an old vacuum cleaner until nearly everyone in the class was in a deep stupor, occasionally coming to long enough to copy down a name or date, then falling asleep again. He had been speaking for half an hour when something happened that had never happened before in his class. Hermione put up her hand.

Professor Binns, glancing up in the middle of a deadly dull lecture on the International Warlock Convention of 1289, looked amazed.

"Miss - er -?"

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione in a clear voice.

Dean Thomas, who had been sitting with his mouth hanging open, gazing out of the window, jerked out of his trance; Lavender Brown's head came up off her arms and Neville Longbottom's elbow slipped off his desk.

Professor Binns blinked.

"My subject is History of Magic," he said in his dry, wheezy voice. "I deal with facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends." He cleared his throat with a small noise like chalk scraping and continued, "In September of that year, a subcommittee of Sardinian sorcerers."

He stuttered to a halt. Hermione's hand was waving in the air again.

"Miss Grant?"

"Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?"

Professor Binns was looking at her in such amazement, Andromeda was sure no student had ever interrupted him before, alive or dead.

"Well," said Professor Binns slowly, "yes, one could argue that, I suppose." He peered at Hermione as though he had never seen a student properly before. "However, the legend of which you speak is such a very sensational, even ludicrous tale -"

But the whole class was now hanging on Professor Binns's every word. He looked dimly at them all, every face turned to his. Andromeda could tell he was completely thrown by such an unusual show of interest.

"Oh, very well," he said slowly. "Let me see ... the Chamber of Secrets ...

"You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

He paused, gazed blearily around the room, and continued.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

Professor Binns paused again, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he said. "But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing.

"Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

There was silence as he finished telling the story, but it wasn't the usual, sleepy silence that filled Professor Binns's classes. There was unease in the air as everyone continued to watch him, hoping for more. Professor Binns looked faintly annoyed.

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course," he said. "Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible."

Hermione's hand was back in the air.

"Sir - what exactly do you mean by the `horror within' the Chamber?"

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," said Professor Binns in his dry, reedy voice.

The class exchanged nervous looks.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist," said Professor Binns, shuffling his notes. "There is no Chamber and no monster."

"But, sir," said Seamus Finnigan, "if the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's true heir, no one else would be able to find it, would they?"

"Nonsense, O'Flaherty," said Professor Binns in an aggravated tone. "If a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses haven't found the thing -"

"But, Professor," piped up Parvati Patil, "you'd probably have to use Dark Magic to open it -"

"Just because a wizard doesn't use Dark Magic doesn't mean he can't, Miss Pennyfeather," snapped Professor Binns. "I repeat, if the likes of Dumbledore -"

"But maybe you've got to be related to Slytherin, so Dumbledore couldn't -" began Dean Thomas, but Professor Binns had had enough.

"That will do," he said sharply. "It is a myth! It does not exist! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish story! We will return, if you please, to history, to solid, believable, verifiable fact!"

And within five minutes, the class had sunk back into its usual torpor.

"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony," Ron told Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione as they fought their way through the teeming corridors at the end of the lesson to drop off their bags before dinner. "But I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his house if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home..."

Dorcas nodded fervently, but Harry and Andromeda didn't say anything. Her stomach had just dropped unpleasantly. The hat had seriously considered putting Harry in Slytherin, Andromeda knew. Andromeda had also nearly been placed in Slytherin. The whole of the Black family, except of course her father, had been sorted into Slytherin and the hat considered putting her there. It had said she had all the traits of a Slytherin... But Andromeda, who had already heard of Slytherin House's reputation for turning out Dark wizards, had thought desperately, "Don't you bloody dare put me in Slytherin," and the hat had then chosen Gryffindor.

As they were shunted along in the throng, Colin Creevy went past.

"Hiya, Harry!"

"Hullo, Colin," said Harry automatically.

"Harry - Andromeda - a boy in my class has been saying two are -"

But Colin was so small he couldn't fight against the tide of people bearing him toward the Great Hall; they heard him squeak, "See you, Harry!" and he was gone.

"What's a boy in his class saying about you two?" Hermione wondered.

"That we're Slytherin's heirs, I expect," said Harry. Andromeda's stomach dropping another inch or so as she suddenly remembered the way Justin Finch-Fletchley had run away from them at lunchtime.

"People here'll believe anything," said Ron in disgust.

The crowd thinned and they were able to climb the next staircase without difficulty.

"D'you really think there's a Chamber of Secrets?" Noah asked Hermione.

"I don't know," she said, frowning. "Dumbledore couldn't cure Mrs. Norris, and that makes me think that whatever attacked her might not be - well - human."

As she spoke, they turned a corner and found themselves at the end of the very corridor where the attack had happened. They stopped and looked. The scene was just as it had been that night, except that there was no stiff cat hanging from the torch bracket, and an empty chair stood against the wall bearing the message "The Chamber of Secrets has been Opened."

"That's where Filch has been keeping guard," Dorcas muttered.

They looked at each other. The corridor was deserted.

"Can't hurt to have a poke around," said Harry, dropping his bag and getting to his hands and knees so that he could crawl along, searching for clues.

"Scorch marks!" he said. "Here - and here -"

"Come and look at this!" said Hermione. "This is funny..."

Andromeda crossed to the window next to the message on the wall. Hermione was pointing at the topmost pane, where around twenty spiders were scuttling, apparently fighting to get through a small crack. A long, silvery thread was dangling like a rope, as though they had all climbed it in their hurry to get outside.

"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" said Noah wonderingly.

"No," said Andromeda, "have you, Ron? Ron?"

She looked over his shoulder. Ron was standing well back and seemed to be fighting the impulse to run.

"What's up?" said Harry.

"I - don't - like - spiders," said Ron tensely.

"I never knew that," said Hermione, looking at Ron in surprise. "You've used spiders in Potions loads of times..."

"I don't mind them dead," said Ron, who was carefully looking anywhere but at the window. "I just don't like the way they move..."

Hermione and Dorcas giggled.

"It's not funny," said Ron, fiercely. "If you must know, when I was three, Fred turned my - my teddy bear into a great big filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick... You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and..."

He broke off, shuddering. Feeling they had better get off the subject, Andromeda said, "Remember all that water on the floor? Where did that come from? Someone's mopped it up."

"It was about here," said Ron, recovering himself to walk a few paces past Filch's chair and pointing. "Level with this door."

Noah reached for the brass doorknob but suddenly withdrew his hand as though he'd been burned.

"What's the matter?" said Harry.

"Can't go in there," said Noah gruffly. "That's a girls' toilet."

"Oh, Noah, there won't be anyone in there," said Dorcas, standing up and coming over. "That's Moaning Myrtle's place. Come on, let's have a look."

And ignoring the large OUT of ORDER sign, she opened the door.

It was the gloomiest, most depressing bathroom Andromeda had ever set foot in. Under a large, cracked, and spotted mirror were a row of chipped sinks. The floor was damp and reflected the dull light given off by the stubs of a few candles, burning low in their holders; the wooden doors to the stalls were flaking and scratched and one of them was dangling off its hinges.

Hermione put her fingers to her lips and set off toward the end stall. When she reached it she said, "Hello, Myrtle, how are you?"

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron went to look. Moaning Myrtle was floating above the tank of the toilet, picking a spot on her chin.

"This is a girls' bathroom," she said, eyeing Ron, Noah and Harry suspiciously. "They're not girls."

"No," Dorcas agreed. "I just wanted to show them how er - nice it is in here."

She waved vaguely at the dirty old mirror and the damp floor.

"Ask her if she saw anything," Harry mouthed at Dorcas.

"What are you whispering?" said Myrtle, staring at him.

"Nothing," said Harry quickly. "We wanted to ask -"

"I wish people would stop talking behind my back!" said Myrtle, in a voice choked with tears. "I do have feelings, you know, even if I am dead -"

"Myrtle, no one wants to upset you," said Hermione. "Harry only -"

"No one wants to upset me! That's a good one!" howled Myrtle. "My life was nothing but misery at this place and now people come along ruining my death!"

"We wanted to ask you if you've seen anything funny lately," said Hermione quickly. "Because a cat was attacked right outside your front door on Halloween."

"Did you see anyone near here that night?" said Andromeda.

"I wasn't paying attention," said Myrtle dramatically. "Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to kill myself Then, of course, I remembered that I'm - that I'm "

"Already dead," said Ron helpfully.

Myrtle gave a tragic sob, rose up in the air, turned over, and dived headfirst into the toilet, splashing water all over them and vanishing from sight, although from the direction of her muffled sobs, she had come to rest somewhere in the U-bend.

Harry and Ron stood with their mouths open, but Hermione shrugged wearily and said, "Honestly, that was almost cheerful for Myrtle ... Come on, let's go."

Harry had barely closed the door on Myrtle's gurgling sobs when a loud voice made all three of them jump.

"RON!"

Percy Weasley had stopped dead at the head of the stairs, prefect badge agleam, and an expression of complete shock on his face.

"That's a girls' bathroom!" he gasped. "What were you -?"

"Just having a look around," Ron shrugged. "Clues, you know -"

Percy swelled in a manner that reminded Andromeda forcefully of Mrs. Weasley.

"Get - away - from - there -" Perry said, striding toward them and starting to bustle them along, flapping his arms. "Don't you care what this looks like? Coming back here while everyone's at dinner -"

"Why shouldn't we be here?" said Noah hotly, stopping short and glaring at Percy. "Listen, we never laid a finger on that cat!"

"That's what I told Ginny," said Percy fiercely, "but she still seems to think you're going to be expelled, I've never seen her so upset, crying her eyes out, you might think of her, all the first years are thoroughly overexcited by this business -"

"You don't care about Ginny," said Ron, whose ears were now reddening. "You're just worried I'm going to mess up your chances of being Head Boy -"

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect badge. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more detective work, or I'll write to Mum!"

And he strode off, the back of his neck as red as Ron's ears.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione chose seats as far as possible from Percy in the common room that night. Ron was still in a very bad temper and kept blotting his Charms homework. When he reached absently for his wand to remove the smudges, it ignited the parchment. Fuming almost as much as his homework, Ron slammed The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 shut. To Andromeda surprise, Hermione and Dorcas followed suit.

"Who can it be, though?" Hermione said in a quiet voice, as though continuing a conversation they had just been having. "Who'd want to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?"

"Let's think," said Ron in mock puzzlement. "Who do we know who thinks Muggle-borns are scum?"

He looked at Hermione. Hermione looked back, unconvinced.

"If you're talking about Malfoy -"

"Of course I am!" said Ron. "You heard him - `You'll be next, Mudbloods!'- come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him -"

"Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" said Dorcas sceptically.

"Look at his family," said Harry, closing his books, too. "The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough."

"Guys, it isn't Malfoy," Andromeda said, looking around at her friends. "If he was a descendant of Slytherin, then so am I. That makes me just as guilty as him."

"Yeah, but it could have been on his dad's side of the family," Harry suggested. "Not your side."

"They could've had the key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuries!" said Ron. "Handing it down, father to son..."

"Well," said Hermione cautiously, "I suppose it's possible..."

"But how do we prove it?" said Harry darkly.

"There might be a way," said Hermione slowly, dropping her voice still further with a quick glance across the room at Percy. "Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We'd be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect -"

"If, in a month or so, you feel like explaining, you will let us know, won't you?" said Noah irritably.

"All right," said Hermione coldly. "What we'd need to do is to get inside the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without him realizing it's us."

"But that's impossible," Harry said as Ron laughed.

"No, it's not," said Andromeda.

"All we'd need would be some Polyjuice Potion," Hermione said.

"What's that?" said Ron, Andromeda, Noah and Harry together.

"Snape mentioned it in class a few weeks ago -" Dorcas said.

"D'you think we've got nothing better to do in Potions than listen to Snape?" muttered Andromeda.

"It transforms you into somebody else. Think about it! We could change into six of the Slytherins. No one would know it was us. Malfoy would probably tell us anything. He's probably boasting about it in the Slytherin common room right now, if only we could hear him."

"This Polyjuice stuff sounds a bit dodgy to me," said Ron, frowning. "What if we were stuck looking like three of the Slytherins forever?"

"It wears off after a while," said Hermione, waving her hand impatiently. "But getting hold of the recipe will be very difficult. Snape said it was in a book called Moste Potente Potions and it's bound to be in the Restricted Section of the library." There was only one way to get out a book from the Restricted Section: You needed a signed note of permission from a teacher.

"Hard to see why we'd want the book, really," said Ron, "if we weren't going to try and make one of the potions."

"I think," said Hermione, "that if we made it sound as though we were just interested in the theory, we might stand a chance..."

"Oh, come on, no teacher's going to fall for that," said Ron. "They'd have to be really thick..."

"And, plus," Andromeda said. "I can just make myself look like one of them and stroll into the Slytherin common room."

"Yeah," Harry said. Then he frowned. "Wait, no. Your eyes don't change colour. Not everyone has grey eyes, you know."

"Then I can do the other transforming thing," Andromeda said giving Harry a pointed glare.

"Can you properly control it yet?"

"I can try."

"No, look, we'll make the potion, that'll give you some time to figure out how to change when you want to, and we can all go together."

"Will one of you tell any of us what the bloody hell you mean by 'change'?" Dorcas said loudly.

"You'll find out later," Andromeda said.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Rogue Bludger

**Chapter 10 - The Rogue Bludger**

As the first days of November moved on, Oliver Wood had the Gryffindor team training almost every night. This did nothing to help Andromeda who was feeling more and more sick by the day as the full moon neared.

Their first match was two days before the full moon, and Andromeda was not liking it at all. Her sickness was evident all week and Wood had even taken her aside after a practice.

"Are you feeling alright, Black?" Wood asked. "You just threw up all over the field and you've looked sick all week. Our game is on Saturday, we need you at your best."

"I'm okay, Oliver," Andromeda said. "Really. I mean, sure, I might be sick, but I can still play fine."

During most her free periods, she snuck into the kitchens to hang out with the house-elves, especially Tiny, her house-elf friend she had made last year. It was times like these that Andromeda felt down because she knew that if Filch hadn't caught her and Harry that day after practice she would have her handy Map to help her avoid teachers.

So, when she wasn't in the kitchens, she was roaming the castle, finding passageways.

When she had told Remus about Filch taking the Map, he said that it was probably for the best. That way she could learn secrets about the castle without any help.

Andromeda met Harry, Dorcas, Noah, Ron and Hermione after their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson to see if they got Lockhart's signature for the Restricted Section.

"I don't believe it," Noah said as the six of them stared at the signature. "He didn't even look at the book we wanted."

"That's because he's a brainless git," said Ron. "But who cares, we've got what we needed -"

"He is not a brainless git," said Hermione shrilly as they half ran toward the library.

"Just because he said you were the best student of the year -"

They dropped their voices as they entered the muffled stillness of the library.

"Moste Potente Potions?" she repeated suspiciously, trying to take the note from Hermione; but Hermione wouldn't let go.

"I was wondering if I could keep it," she said breathlessly.

"Oh, come on," said Andromeda, wrenching it from her grasp and thrusting it at Madam Pince. "We'll get you another autograph. Lockhart'll sign anything if it stands still long enough."

Madam Pince held the note up to the light, as though determined to detect a forgery, but it passed the test. She stalked away between the lofty shelves and returned several minutes later carrying a large and mouldy-looking book. Hermione put it carefully into her bag and they left, trying not to walk too quickly or look too guilty.

Five minutes later, they were barricaded in Moaning Myrtle's out-of-order bathroom once again. Hermione had overridden Noah and Ron's objections by pointing out that it was the last place anyone in their right minds would go, so they were guaranteed some privacy. Moaning Myrtle was crying noisily in her stall, but they were ignoring her, and she them.

Hermione opened Moste Potente Potions carefully, and the six of them bent over the damp-spotted pages. It was clear from a glance why it belonged in the Restricted Section. Some of the potions had effects almost too gruesome to think about, and there were some very unpleasant illustrations, which included a man who seemed to have been turned inside out and a witch sprouting several extra pairs of arms out of her head.

"Here it is," said Dorcas excitedly as she found the page headed The Polyjuice Potion. It was decorated with drawings of people halfway through transforming into other people. Andromeda sincerely hoped the artist had imagined the looks of intense pain on their faces.

"This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen," said Hermione as they scanned the recipe. "Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed, and knotgrass," she murmured, running her finger down the list of ingredients. "Well, they're easy enough, they're in the student store- cupboard, we can help ourselves ... Oooh, look, powdered horn of a bicorn - don't know where we're going to get that - shredded skin of a boomslang -. that'll be tricky, too and of course a bit of whoever we want to change into."

"Excuse me?" said Ron sharply. "What d'you mean, a bit of whoever we're changing into? I'm drinking nothing with Crabbe's toenails in it -"

Hermione continued as though she hadn't heard him.

"We don't have to worry about that yet, though, because we add those bits last ...

"D'you realize how much we're going to have to steal, Hermione?" Noah asked. "Shredded skin of a boomslang, that's definitely not in the students' cupboard. What're we going to do, break into Snape's private stores? I don't know if this is a good idea..."

Hermione shut the book with a snap.

"Well, if you five are going to chicken out, fine," she said. There were bright pink patches on her cheeks and her eyes were brighter than usual. "I don't want to break rules, you know. I think threatening Muggle-borns is far worse than brewing up a difficult potion. But if you don't want to find out if it's Malfoy, I'll go straight to Madam Pince now and hand the book back in"

"I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be persuading us to break rules," said Ron. "All right, we'll do it. But not toenails, okay?"

"How long will it take to make, anyway?" said Harry as Hermione, looking happier, opened the book again.

"Well, since the fluxweed has got to be picked at the full moon and the lacewings have got to be stewed for twenty-one days ... I'd say it'd be ready in about a month, if we can get all the ingredients."

"A month?" said Dorcas. "Malfoy could have attacked half the Muggle-borns in the school by then!" But Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously again, and she added swiftly, "But it's the best plan we've got, so full steam ahead, I say."

However, while Hermione was checking that the coast was clear for them to leave the bathroom, Ron muttered to Harry and Andromeda, "It'll be a lot less hassle if you can just knock Malfoy off his broom tomorrow."

Andromeda woke early the next morning feeling worse than ever. She dressed, looking ridiculous with mint green hair, and, not being bothered to change it to another colour, made her way down to breakfast. Wood was the only team member there so far, looking very uptight, so she went and joined him.

"Are you sure you're alright to play?" Wood said, looking at her sickly face.

"I'm fine," she grumbled.

"Your hair is bright today."

Around nine o'clock most of the team and Dorcas, Ron, Hermione, and Noah arrived, joining Andromeda and Wood. Just after they sat down, four people walked through the doors to the Great Hall. Remus, looking very awkward and worn out, was standing with a brown haired woman, a man with fair hair, and a young woman with bright bubblegum pink hair.

Andromeda stood up at once and walked over to them, Dorcas and Noah right behind her.

Her two friends hugged Remus and he smiled weakly at Andromeda.

"This is Andromeda, Ted and Nymphadora Tonks," Remus introduced.

"Don't call me Nymphadora," the pink-haired woman said. "It's just Tonks."

"Hi," Andromeda said, giving a feeble wave to the three strangers.

"Oh, dear," Mrs. Tonks said. "You do not look well at all."

"I'll manage," Andromeda said. "I'm just a bit under the weather."

"Oh, we know what's really wrong," Ted said. "But don't worry. We don't care. Emily was a nice woman."

Andromeda nodded awkwardly.

"So, a Chaser, huh?" Tonks said.

"Youngest house player in a century, actually," Dorcas told them. "Was put on the team last year when we were first years."

"Really?" Mrs. Tonks gasped. "That's wonderful! Your father used to play as well. And your uncle Regulus."

"Who's Regulus?" Andromeda asked.

"He was your father's younger brother. Died in the last war," Ted said. "He was a Slytherin Seeker."

Then a voice rang out from behind the group.

"Well if it isn't a blood-traitor reunion."

Draco Malfoy has arrived, dressed in green Slytherin robes with a smirk on his face.

"You don't look well, Black," he said, walking past the group to the Slytherin table. "Be sure to not get knocked off your broom."

"Hopefully the only person being knocked off their broom is you, Malfoy," Harry said as he walked into the Great Hall.

As eleven o'clock approached, the whole school started to make its way down to the Quidditch stadium. It was a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air. The team pulled on their scarlet Gryffindor robes, then sat down to listen to Wood's usual pre-match pep talk.

"Slytherin has better brooms than us," he began. "No point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers -" ("Too true," muttered George Weasley. "I haven't been properly dry since August") "- and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team."

Chest heaving with emotion, Wood turned to Harry.

"It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."

"So no pressure, Harry" said Fred, winking at him.

As they walked out onto the pitch, a roar of noise greeted them; mainly cheers, because Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were anxious to see Slytherin beaten, but the Slytherins in the crowd made their boos and hisses heard, too. Madam Hooch, the Quidditch teacher, asked Flint and Wood to shake hands, which they did, giving each other threatening stares and gripping rather harder than was necessary.

"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch. "Three ... two ... one. . .

With a roar from the crowd to speed them upward, the fourteen players rose toward the leaden sky.

AT once, Andromeda made for the quaffle and zoomed down the Quidditch field. She threw it to Angelina Johnson as a bludger grazed her nose.

"Close one, 'Dromeda!" Fred called as he went to hit it. But before his bat could touch the bludger, it turned and zoomed straight for Andromeda. She ducked and it missed her. She sat up and looked for it and it was turning back and heading towards her again.

Andromeda put on a burst of speed and zoomed toward the other end of the pitch where she saw Harry being chased by a bludger of his own. She could hear the Bludger whistling along behind her. What was going on? Bludgers never concentrated on one player like this; it was their job to try and unseat as many people as possible...

Fred Weasley was waiting for the Bludger at the other end. Andromeda ducked as Fred swung at the Bludger with all his might; the Bludger was knocked off course.

"Gotcha!" Fred yelled happily, but he was wrong; as though it was magnetically attracted to Andromeda, the Bludger pelted after her once more and she was forced to fly off at full speed.

It had started to rain; Andromeda felt heavy drops fall onto her face. She didn't have a clue what was going on in the rest of the game until she heard Lee Jordan, who was commentating, say, "Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero -'

The Slytherins' superior brooms were clearly doing their jobs, and meanwhile the mad Bludgers were doing all they could to knock Harry and Andromeda out of the air. Fred was now flying next to Andromeda and George was next to Harry.

"Someone's - tampered - with - these - Bludgers -" Fred grunted, swinging his bat with all his might at it as one of them launched a new attack on Andromeda.

"We need time out," said George, trying to signal to Wood and stop the Bludger breaking Harry's nose at the same time.

Wood had obviously got the message. Madam Hooch's whistle rang out and Harry, Andromeda, Fred, and George dived for the ground, still trying to avoid the mad Bludgers.

"What's going on?" said Wood as the Gryffindor team huddled together, while Slytherins in the crowd jeered. "We're being flattened. Fred, George, where were you when Flint stopped Angelina scoring?"

"We were twenty feet above her, stopping the Bludgers from murdering Harry, and Andromeda, Oliver," said George angrily. "Someone's fixed them - they won't leave Harry and 'Dromeda alone. They haven't gone for anyone else all game. The Slytherins must have done something to it."

"But the Bludgers have been locked in Madam Hooch's office since our last practice, and there was nothing wrong with them then..." said Wood, anxiously.

Madam Hooch was walking toward them. Over her shoulder, Andromeda could see the Slytherin team jeering and pointing in their direction.

"Listen," said Harry as she came nearer and nearer, "with you two flying around me all the time the only way I'm going to catch the Snitch is if it flies up my sleeve. Go back to the rest of the team and let me deal with the rogue one. Keep Andy's one away from her so she can still play."

"Don't be thick," said Fred. "It'll take your head off."

Wood was looking from Harry to Andromeda to the Weasleys.

"Oliver, this is insane," said Katie Bell angrily. "You can't let Harry deal with that thing on his own. Let's ask for an inquiry -"

"If we stop now, we'll have to forfeit the match!" said Harry. "And we're not losing to Slytherin just because of crazy Bludgers! Come on, Oliver, tell them to leave me alone!"

"This is all your fault," George said angrily to Wood. "'Get the Snitch or die trying,' what a stupid thing to tell him -"

Madam Hooch had joined them.

"Ready to resume play?" she asked Wood.

Wood looked at the determined look on Harry's face.

"All right," he said. "Fred, George, you heard Harry -leave him alone and let him deal with the Bludger on his own. Circle around Andromeda but make sure she can still catch the Quaffle."

Andromeda kicked off and zoomed down the pitch. Angelina passed the Quaffle to her and she scored, Fred and George hitting the Bludger away from her. She scored four more times when -

WHAM.

George missed the bludger and it slammed into Andromeda's chest. She was winded and the Bludger made no move to leave her. It dragged her off her broom and into the stands and all she saw was black.

When she came around all she could see was bright light. At first she thought she was dead but then her eyes focused more and she made out the different shapes of the hospital wing.

She groaned and tried to sit up, but she became dizzy so she flopped back down.

"Andy!"

Andromeda looked to where the voice came from and saw Harry on a bed next to hers with Ron, Hermione, Noah and Dorcas surrounding him.

The door of the hospital wing burst open at that moment. Filthy and soaking wet, the rest of the Gryffindor team had arrived. "Unbelievable flying, Harry," said George. "I've just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn't seem too happy."

They had brought cakes, sweets, and bottles of pumpkin juice; they gathered around Harry's and Andromeda's beds and were just getting started on what promised to be a good party when Madam Pomfrey came storming over, shouting, "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow and Miss Black has five broken ribs! Out! OUT!"

As they left, the Tonks family and Remus made their way into the room.

"'Meda," Remus said rushing to hug her.

She groaned when she felt her ribs ache and he let go immediately.

"What happened?" she asked.

"That crazy Bludger wouldn't leave you alone for the whole game and it finally got you," Tonks said. "You flew right into the stands. When you landed, the Bludger just rolled off you."

"What about you, Harry?" Andromeda said, looking over at him.

"Bludger broke my arm and when Lockhart tried mending it he removed all the bones in my arm."

Andromeda laughed but soon stopped when she felt the pain.

"Sorry you came all this way to watch a bad game," Andromeda said, looking at her family.

"Oh, dear, it's fine, really," Tonks said. "You're a really great flyer, you know."

The Tonks' and Remus stood around her for ten minutes talking about the game before Madam Pomfrey told them that Andromeda needed rest.

"Just five more minutes, please, Madam Pomfrey," Mrs. Tonks said after the others had walked out.

Madam Pomfrey looked at her with thin lips before walking into her office.

"You look a bit like my sister," she said, turning to Andromeda. "Bellatrix. Her and your father looked alike. I think it's the hair."

She reached over and brushed Andromeda's black hair out of her face. It must have changed back to black when she passed out.

"It was a little weird seeing you lying in the stands looking like her," Mrs. Tonks continued. Then she whispered, "I know what she did to you."

Andromeda stared at her, bewildered. "H-how? Did Remus -"

"Oh, Remus didn't tell me, dear, no," she said softly. "Bellatrix found me not long before she was arrested. She gloated about what she did. But it did make me happy."

"What?" Andromeda said weakly as her body went stiff.

"Not the torture part, Merlin's beard, no!" Mrs. Tonks exclaimed. "I thought you were dead. She told me what she did to you but all I could feel was relief because you were alive."

Andromeda relaxed. "Oh."

"Ted and I have been talking these past couple months since we received Remus' letter," said Mrs. Tonks. "And we decided that if you would like to, you could come and live with us."

"Could I – could I think about it?" Andromeda said.

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Tonks' said, smiling, "Take as much time as you need."

"Thank you, Mrs. Tonks," said Andromeda, but to her surprise, her father's cousin let out a laugh.

"Oh, please," she said. Call me Aunt 'Dromeda. I've always wanted to be called that."

Hours and hours later, after having to drink both her Wolfsbane potion and another potion to heal her ribs, Andromeda woke quite suddenly in the pitch blackness from a small yelp of pain. She looked towards Harry's bed. Then, with a thrill of horror, she realized that someone was sponging his forehead in the dark.

"Get off!" Harry said loudly, and then, "Dobby!"

The house-elf's goggling tennis ball eyes were peering at Harry through the darkness. A single tear was running down his long, pointed nose. Andromeda got up off her bed, wincing, and walked over to Harry's bed, sitting down on the side of it..

"Harry Potter and Andromeda Black came back to school," he whispered miserably. "Dobby warned and warned them. Ah sir and miss, why didn't you heed Dobby? Why didn't Harry Potter and Andromeda Black go back home when they missed the train?"

Harry heaved himself up on his pillows and pushed Dobby's sponge away.

"What're you doing here?" Andromeda said. "And how did you know we missed the train?"

Dobby's lip trembled and Andromeda was seized by a sudden suspicion.

"It was you!" Harry said slowly. "You stopped the barrier from letting us through!"

"Indeed yes, sir," said Dobby, nodding his head vigorously, ears flapping. "Dobby hid and watched for Harry Potter and Andromeda Black and sealed the gateway and Dobby had to iron his hands afterward" - he showed Harry and Andromeda ten long, bandaged fingers - "but Dobby didn't care, for he thought Harry Potter and Andromeda Black were safe, and never did Dobby dream that they would get to school another way!"

He was rocking backward and forward, shaking his ugly head.

"Dobby was 'so shocked when he heard Harry Potter and Andromeda Black were back at Hogwarts, he let his master's dinner burn! Such a flogging Dobby never had, sir, miss..."

Harry slumped back onto his pillows.

"You nearly got us expelled," he said fiercely. "You'd better get lost before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you."

Dobby smiled weakly.

"Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home."

He blew his nose on a corner of the filthy pillowcase he wore, looking so pathetic that Andromeda felt her anger ebb away in spite of herself.

"Why d'you wear that thing, Dobby?" Andromeda asked curiously.

"This, miss?" said Dobby, plucking at the pillowcase. "'Tis a mark of the house-elf's enslavement, miss. Dobby can only be freed if his masters present him with clothes, miss. The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, miss, for then he would be free to leave their house forever."

Dobby mopped his bulging eyes and said suddenly, "Harry Potter and Andromeda Black must go home! Dobby thought his Bludgers would be enough to make -"

"Your Bludgers?" said Harry. "What d'you mean, your Bludgers? You made those Bludgers try and kill us?"

"Not kill you, sir, never kill you!" said Dobby, shocked. "Dobby wants to save Harry Potter's and Andromeda Black's life! Better sent home, grievously injured, than remain here! Dobby only wanted Harry Potter and Andromeda Black hurt enough to be sent home!"

"Oh, is that all?" said Harry angrily. "I don't suppose you're going to tell us why you wanted us sent home in pieces?"

"Ah, if Harry Potter only knew!" Dobby groaned, more tears dripping onto his ragged pillowcase. "If he knew what he means to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, we dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at the height of his powers, sir! We house-elfves were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir," he admitted, drying his face on the pillowcase. "But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind since you triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir, and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the Dark days would never end, sit... And last year, Dobby is hearing his master talking about how Andromeda Black was also the one who saved us... And now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are to happen, are perhaps happening already, and Dobby cannot let Harry Potter and Andromeda Black stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more

Dobby froze, horror-struck, then grabbed a water jug from the bedside table and cracked it over his own head, toppling out of sight. A second later, he crawled back onto the bed, cross-eyed, muttering, "Bad Dobby, very bad Dobby. . ."

"So there is a Chamber of Secrets?" Andromeda whispered. "And did you say it's been opened before? Tell me, Dobby!"

Harry seized the elf's bony wrist as Dobby's hand inched toward the water jug. "But we're not Muggle-born - how can I be in danger from the Chamber?"

"Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby," stammered the elf, his eyes huge in the dark. "Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Harry Potter and Andromeda Black must not be here when they happen - go home, Harry Potter, go home, Andromeda Black. You must not meddle in this, sir, miss, 'tis too dangerous -"

"Who is it, Dobby?" Harry said, keeping a firm hold on Dobby's wrist to stop him from hitting himself with the water jug again. "Who's opened it? Who opened it last time?"

"Dobby can't, sir, Dobby can't, Dobby mustn't tell!" squealed the elf. "Go home, go home!"

"We're not going anywhere!" said Andromeda fiercely. "One of our best friends is Muggle-born; she'll be first in line if the Chamber really has been opened -"

"Harry Potter and Andromeda Black risks their own lives for their friends!" moaned Dobby in a kind of miserable ecstasy. "So noble! So valiant! But they must save himself, they must, Harry Potter and Andromeda Black must not -"

Dobby suddenly froze, his bat ears quivering. Andromeda heard it, too. There were footsteps coming down the passageway outside.

"Dobby must go!" breathed the elf, terrified. There was a loud crack, and Harry's fist was suddenly clenched on thin air. He slumped back into bed, his eyes on the dark doorway to the hospital wing as the footsteps drew nearer. Andromeda pushed him further onto the other side of the bed and laid down next to him, eyes glued to the doorway.

Next moment, Dumbledore was backing into the dormitory, wearing a long woolly dressing gown and a nightcap. He was carrying one end of what looked like a statue. Professor McGonagall appeared a second later, carrying its feet. Together, they heaved it onto a bed.

"Get Madam Pomfrey," whispered Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall hurried past the end of Harry's bed out of sight. Harry and Andromeda lay quite still, pretending to be asleep. She heard urgent voices, and then Professor McGonagall swept back into view, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey, who was pulling a cardigan on over her nightdress. She heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered to Dumbledore, bending over the statue on the bed.

"Another attack," said Dumbledore. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him," said Professor McGonagall. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter."

Slowly and carefully, she raised herself a few inches so she could look at the statue on the bed. A ray of moonlight lay across its staring face.

It was Colin Creevey. His eyes were wide and his hands were stuck up in front of him, holding his camera.

"Petrified?" whispered Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "But I shudder to think ... If Albus hadn't been on the way downstairs for hot chocolate - who knows what might have -"

The three of them stared down at Colin. Then Dumbledore leaned forward and wrenched the camera out of Colin's rigid grip.

"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" said Professor McGonagall eagerly.

Dumbledore didn't answer. He opened the back of the camera.

"Good gracious!" said Madam Pomfrey.

A jet of steam had hissed out of the camera. Harry and Andromeda, three beds away, caught the acrid smell of burnt plastic.

"Melted," said Madam Pomfrey wonderingly. "All melted..."

"What does this mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked urgently.

"It means," said Dumbledore, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."

Madam Pomfrey clapped a hand to her mouth. Professor McGonagall stared at Dumbledore.

"But, Albus... surely... who?"

"The question is not who," said Dumbledore, his eyes on Colin. "The question is, how . . . ." And from what Andromeda could see of Professor McGonagall's shadowy face, she didn't understand this any better than Andromeda did.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Duelling Club

**Chapter 11 - The Duelling Club**

Andromeda woke up on Sunday morning still in Harry's hospital bed to find the hospital wing blazing with winter sunlight. She sat up quickly and looked over at Colin's bed, but it had been blocked from view by high curtains. Seeing that she was awake, Madam Pomfrey came bustling over with a breakfast tray.

"Oh, you're awake," she said. "And not in your bed like I had left you last night, I see."

"Uh, this one is comfier?" Andromeda tried. Madam Pomfrey gave her an exasperated look.

Beside Andromeda, Harry started to stir. Madam Pomfrey handed the breakfast tray to Andromeda and inspected Harry's arm.

"All in order," she said as he clumsily fed himself porridge left-handed. "When you've finished eating, you two may leave. But, Miss Black, please be careful. You aren't fully healed yet."

"I know. I can feel it."

Half-way through breakfast Harry suddenly said, "Why didn't you say yes?"

"Yes to what?" Andromeda asked, confused.

"To living with your family."

"Because I have lived with you for eleven years and I'm not going to change that for someone I just met."

After breakfast Harry dressed as quickly as he could and they hurried off to Gryffindor Tower, Andromeda still in her Quidditch robes. They were desperate to tell Ron. Dorcas, Noah and Hermione about Colin and Dobby, but they weren't there. They left to look for them, wondering where they could have got to.

As Harry and Andromeda passed the library, Percy Weasley strolled out of it, looking in far better spirits than last time they'd met.

"Oh, hello, Harry, Andromeda," he said. "Excellent flying yesterday, really excellent. Gryffindor has just taken the lead for the House Cup you earned fifty points!"

"You haven't seen Ron, Dorcas, Noah or Hermione, have you?" said Harry.

"No, I haven't," said Percy, his smile fading. "I hope Ron's not in another girls' toilet ...

Andromeda and Harry forced a laugh, watched Percy walk out of sight, and then headed straight for Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They couldn't see why Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione would be in there again, but after making sure that neither Filch nor any prefects were around, they opened the door and heard their voices coming from a locked stall.

"It's us," Andromeda said, closing the door behind her. There was a clunk, a splash, and a gasp from within the stall and he saw Hermione's eye peering through the keyhole.

`Harry! Andromeda!" she said. "You gave us such a fright - come in, how's your arm and ribs?"

"Fine," said Harry, as they squeezed into the stall. An old cauldron was perched on the toilet, and a crackling from under the rim told Andromeda they had lit a fire beneath it. Conjuring up portable, waterproof fires was a speciality of Hermione's.

"We'd've come to meet you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion," Noah explained as Harry, with difficulty, locked the stall again. "We've decided this is the safest place to hide it."

Andromeda started to tell them about Colin, but Dorcas interrupted.

"We already know - we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick this morning. That's why we decided we'd better get going -"

"The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better," snarled Ron. "D'you know what I think? He was in such a foul temper after the Quidditch match, he took it out on Colin."

"There's something else," said Harry, watching Hermione tearing bundles of knotgrass and throwing them into the potion. "Dobby came to visit us in the middle of the night."

Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione looked up, amazed. Harry and Andromeda told them everything Dobby had told them - or hadn't told them. Hermione, Dorcas, Noah and Ron listened with their mouths open.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?" Hermione said.

"This settles it," said Ron in a triumphant voice. "Lucius Malfoy must've opened the Chamber when he was at school here and now he's told dear old Draco how to do it. It's obvious. Wish Dobby'd told you what kind of monster's in there, though. I want to know how come nobody's noticed it sneaking around the school."

"Maybe it can make itself invisible," said Dorcas, prodding leeches to the bottom of the cauldron. "Or maybe it can disguise itself - pretend to be a suit of armour or something - I've read about Chameleon Ghouls -"

"You and Hermione read too much," said Ron, pouring dead lacewings on top of the leeches. He crumpled up the empty lacewing bag and looked at Harry and Andromeda.

"So Dobby stopped us from getting on the train and broke your arm and your ribs." He shook his head. "You know what? If he doesn't stop trying to save your life he's going to kill you."

The news that Colin Creevey had been attacked and was now lying as though dead in the hospital wing had spread through the entire school by Monday morning. The air was suddenly thick with rumour and suspicion. The first years were now moving around the castle in tight-knit groups, as though scared they would be attacked if they ventured forth alone.

Ginny Weasley, who sat next to Colin Creevey in Charms, was distraught, but Andromeda felt that Fred and George were going the wrong way about cheering her up. They were taking turns covering themselves with fur or boils and jumping out at her from behind statues. They only stopped when Percy, apoplectic with rage, told them he was going to write to Mrs. Weasley and tell her Ginny was having nightmares.

Meanwhile, hidden from the teachers, a roaring trade in talismans, amulets, and other protective devices was sweeping the school. Neville Longbottom bought a large, evil-smelling green onion, a pointed purple crystal, and a rotting newt tail before the other Gryffindor boys pointed out that he was in no danger; he was a pure- blood, and therefore unlikely to be attacked.

"They went for Filch first," Neville said, his round face fearful. "And everyone knows I'm almost a Squib."

In the second week of December Professor McGonagall came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione signed her list; they had heard that Malfoy was staying, which struck them as very suspicious. The holidays would be the perfect time to use the Polyjuice Potion and try to worm a confession out of him.

Unfortunately, the potion was only half finished. They still needed the bicorn horn and the boomslang skin, and the only place they were going to get them was from Snape's private stores. Andromeda privately felt she'd rather face Slytherin's legendary monster than let Snape catch her robbing his office.

"What we need," said Hermione briskly as Thursday afternoon's double Potions lesson loomed nearer, "is a diversion. Then one of us can sneak into Snape's office and take what we need."

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron looked at her nervously.

"I think I'd better do the actual stealing," Hermione continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "You three will be expelled if you get into any more trouble, and I've got a clean record. Also, he hates four of you so he'll notice if one of you went missing during his class. So all you five need to do is cause enough mayhem to keep Snape busy for five minutes or so."

Andromeda smiled feebly. Deliberately causing mayhem in Snape's Potions class was about as safe as poking a sleeping dragon in the eye, but a fun hobby of hers.

Potions lessons took place in one of the large dungeons. Thursday afternoon's lesson proceeded in the usual way. Twenty cauldrons stood steaming between the wooden desks, on which stood brass scales and jars of ingredients. Snape prowled through the fumes, making waspish remarks about the Gryffindors' work while the Slytherins sniggered appreciatively. Draco Malfoy, who was Snape's favourite student, kept flicking puffer-fish eyes at Ron, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Harry, who knew that if they retaliated they would get detention faster than you could say "Unfair."

After Snape walked past and sneered at Harry's runny potion, the friends all caught each other's eyes.

Andromeda ducked swiftly down behind her cauldron, pulled one of Fred's Filibuster fireworks out of her pocket, and gave it a quick prod with her wand. The firework began to fizz and sputter. Knowing she had only seconds, Andromeda straightened up, took aim, and lobbed it into the air; it landed right on target in Goyle's cauldron.

Goyle's potion exploded, showering the whole class. People shrieked as splashes of the Swelling Solution hit them. Malfoy got a faceful and his nose began to swell like a balloon; Goyle blundered around, his hands over his eyes, which had expanded to the size of a dinner plate - Snape was trying to restore calm and find out what had happened. Through the confusion, Harry saw Hermione slip quietly into Snape's office.

"Silence! SILENCE!" Snape roared. "Anyone who has been splashed, come here for a Deflating Draft - when I find out who did this -"

Andromeda tried not to laugh as she watched Malfoy hurry forward, his head drooping with the weight of a nose like a small melon. As half the class lumbered up to Snape's desk, some weighted down with arms like clubs, others unable to talk through gigantic puffed-up lips, Andromeda saw Hermione slide back into the dungeon, the front of her robes bulging.

When everyone had taken a swig of antidote and the various swellings had subsided, Snape swept over to Goyle's cauldron and scooped out the twisted black remains of the firework. There was a sudden hush.

"BLACK!"

"Yes, Snivellus?"

"Detention," Snape sneered. "My office, eight o'clock tonight."

"What for, Professor?" Andromeda asked innocently.

"You threw this firework into Goyle's potion, didn't you?"

"No."

"No?"

"That's right," Andromeda said. "No."

"I know you did this, Black."

"Innocent until proven guilty," Andromeda said. "And since I did not throw this firework into Goyle's potion, you have no proof, therefore I am innocent."

"You are just like your father," Snape growled. "He, too, was an arrogant troublemaker like yourself. You better watch it, Black, or you'll end up in Azkaban like him."

"Better than ending up like you, I'll say."

Hermione and Dorcas threw the new ingredients into the cauldron and began to stir feverishly.

"It'll be ready in two weeks," Hermione said happily.

A week later, Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione were walking across the entrance hall when they saw a small knot of people gathered around the notice board, reading a piece of parchment that had just been pinned up. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas beckoned them over, looking excited.

"They're starting a Duelling Club!" said Seamus. "First meeting tonight! I wouldn't mind duelling lessons; they might come in handy one of these days..."

"What, you reckon Slytherin's monster can duel?" said Ron, but he, too, read the sign with interest.

"Could be useful," he said to Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas Noah and Hermione as they went into dinner. "Shall we go?"

They were all for it, so at eight o'clock that evening they hurried back to the Great Hall. The long dining tables had vanished and a golden stage had appeared along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black once more and most of the school seemed to be packed beneath it, all carrying their wands and looking excited.

"I wonder who'll be teaching us?" said Dorcas as they edged into the chattering crowd. "Someone told me Flitwick was a duelling champion when he was young - maybe it'll be him."

"As long as it's not -" Harry began, but he ended on a groan: Gilderoy Lockhart was walking onto the stage, resplendent in robes of deep plum and accompanied by none other than Snape, wearing his usual black.

Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called ' "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little duelling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about duelling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry - you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?" Andromeda muttered in Harry's ear.

Snape's upper lip was curling.

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position," Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Harry murmured, watching Snape baring his teeth.

"One - two - three -"

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried: "Expelliarmus!" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

Andromeda, Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins cheered. Hermione was dancing on tiptoes. "Do you think he's all right?" she squealed through her fingers.

"Who cares?" said Harry, Noah, Dorcas and Ron together.

Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

"Well, there you have it!" he said, tottering back onto the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm - as you see, I've lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown - yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy - however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see..."

Snape was looking murderous. Possibly Lockhart had noticed, because he said, "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me -"

They moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Lockhart teamed Neville with Justin Finch-Fletchley, but Snape reached Harry and Ron first.

"Time to split up the dream team, I think," he sneered. "Weasley, you can partner Finnigan. Pettigrew, you're with Longbottom, and Lupin, can be with Mr. Thomas. Potter -"

Harry moved automatically toward Andromeda.

"I don't think so," said Snape, smiling coldly. "Mr Zabini, Mr. Malfoy, come over here. Let's see what you make of the famous Potter and Miss Black. And you, Miss Granger - you can partner Miss Bulstrode."

Malfoy strutted over, smirking. Behind him walked a tall Slytherin boy and Slytherin girl who reminded Andromeda of a picture she'd seen in Holidays with Hags. She was large and square and her heavy jaw jutted aggressively. Hermione gave her a weak smile that she did not return.

"Face your partners!" called Lockhart, back on the platform. "And bow!"

Harry and Andromeda barely inclined their heads, not taking their eyes off each other.

"Wands at the ready!" shouted Lockhart. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents - only to disarm them - we don't want any accidents - one ... two ... three -"

Andromeda swung her wand high, but Malfoy had already started on "two": His spell hit Andromeda so hard she felt as though she'd been hit over the head with a saucepan. She stumbled, but everything still seemed to be working, and wasting no more time, Andromeda pointed her wand straight at Malfoy and shouted, "Levicorpus!"

Malfoy was suddenly hanging upside down by his ankle. Then, while he was helpless, she said, "Ricktusempra!

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart shouted in alarm over the heads of the battling crowd, as Malfoy sank to his knees; Andromeda had hit him with a Tickling Charm, and he could barely move for laughing. As soon as he looked up at her, she raised her wand and cast the Bat-Bogey Hex. Malfoy's face was being attacked by his own bogeys. While Malfoy couldn't see her, she cast the Jelly-Legs Jinx and Malfoy's legs gave way from underneath him.

"Stop! Stop!" screamed Lockhart, but Snape took charge.

"Finite Incantatem!" he shouted; Malfoy stopped laughing and he was no longer being attacked by his own bogeys.

A haze of greenish smoke was hovering over the scene. Both Neville and Justin were lying on the floor, panting; Ron was holding up an ashen-faced Seamus, apologizing for whatever his broken wand had done; but Hermione and Millicent Bulstrode were still moving; Millicent had Hermione in a headlock and Hermione was whimpering in pain; both their wands lay forgotten on the floor. Harry and Andromeda leapt forward and pulled Millicent off. It was difficult: She was a lot bigger than they were.

"Dear, dear," said Lockhart, skittering through the crowd, looking at the aftermath of the duels. "Up you go, Macmillan... Careful there, Miss Fawcett... Pinch it hard, it'll stop bleeding in a second, Boot

"I think I'd better teach you how to block unfriendly spells," said Lockhart, standing flustered in the midst of the hall. He glanced at Snape, whose black eyes glinted, and looked quickly away. "Let's have a volunteer pair - Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you -"

"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart," said Snape, gliding over like a large and malevolent bat. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Neville's round, pink face went pinker. "How about Malfoy and Black?" said Snape with a twisted smile.

"Excellent idea!" said Lockhart, gesturing Andromeda and Malfoy into the middle of the hall as the crowd backed away to give them room.

Snape moved closer to Malfoy, bent down, and whispered something in his ear. Malfoy smirked, too.

"Three - two - one - go!" he shouted.

Malfoy raised his wand quickly and bellowed, "Serpensortia!"

The end of his wand exploded. Andromeda watched, aghast, as a long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the floor between them, and raised itself, ready to strike. There were screams as the crowd backed swiftly away, clearing the floor and Harry moved to stand next to Andromeda.

"Don't move, Black," said Snape lazily, clearly enjoying the sight of Andromeda standing motionless, eye to eye with the angry snake. "I'll get rid of it..."

"Allow me!" shouted Lockhart. He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack. Enraged, hissing furiously, it slithered straight toward Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.

Andromeda wasn't sure what made her do it. She wasn't even aware of deciding to do it. All she knew was that her legs were carrying her forward as though she was on casters and that she had shouted stupidly at the snake, "Leave him alone!" while Harry shouted at it, "Get away from him." And miraculously - inexplicably - the snake slumped to the floor, docile as a thick, black garden hose, its eyes now on Andromeda and Harry. Andromeda felt the fear drain out of her. She knew the snake wouldn't attack anyone now, though how she knew it, she couldn't have explained.

She looked up at Justin, grinning, expecting to see Justin looking relieved, or puzzled, or even grateful - but certainly not angry and scared.

"What do you think you're playing at?" he shouted, and before Harry or Andromeda could say anything, Justin had turned and stormed out of the hall.

Snape stepped forward, waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke. Snape, too, was looking at Harry and Andromeda in an unexpected way: It was a shrewd and calculating look, and Andromeda didn't like it. She was also dimly aware of an ominous muttering all around the walls. Then she felt a tugging on the back of his robes.

"Come on," said Dorcas' voice in her ear. "Move - come on -"

Ron, Noah, Dorcas and Hermione steered Andromeda and Harry out of the hall, Hermione hurrying alongside them. As they went through the doors, the people on either side drew away as though they were frightened of catching something. Andromeda didn't have a clue what was going on, and Ron, Dorcas, Noah or Hermione explained anything until they had dragged her and Harry all the way up to the empty Gryffindor common room. Then Ron pushed Harry and Andromeda into armchairs and said, "You two are Parselmouths. Why didn't you tell us?"

"We're a what?" said Harry.

"A Parselmouth!" said Noah. "You can talk to snakes!"

"We know," said Andromeda. "I mean, that's only the second time we've ever done it. We accidentally set a boa constrictor on Harry's cousin Dudley at the zoo once - long story - but it was telling me it had never seen Brazil and we sort of set it free without meaning to that was before we knew we were a witch and wizard -"

"A boa constrictor told you it had never seen Brazil?" Dorcas repeated faintly.

"So?" said Harry. "I bet loads of people here can do it."

"Oh, no they can't," said Ron. "It's not a very common gift. Harry, 'Dromeda, this is bad."

"What's bad?" said Andromeda, starting to feel quite angry. "What's wrong with everyone? Listen, if we hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin -"

"Oh, that's what you said to it?"

"What d'you mean? You were there - you heard us -"

"We heard you speaking Parseltongue," said Noah. "Snake language. You could have been saying anything - no wonder Justin panicked, you two sounded like you were egging the snake on or something - it was creepy, you know -"

Harry and Andromeda gaped at him.

"We spoke a different language? But - I didn't realize - how can we speak a language without knowing we can speak it?"

Ron shook his head. Both he, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione were looking as though someone had died. Andromeda couldn't see what was so terrible.

"D'you want to tell me what's wrong with stopping a massive snake biting off Justin's head?" Andromeda said. "What does it matter how we did it as long as Justin doesn't have to join the Headless Hunt?"

"It matters," said Hermione, speaking at last in a hushed voice, "because being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent."

Andromeda's mouth fell open.

"Exactly," said Ron. "And now the whole school's going to think you're his great-great-great-great-grandson or something -"

"But we aren't," said Harry, with a panic in his voice.

"You'll find that hard to prove," said Hermione. "He lived about a thousand years ago; for all we know, either of you could be."

Andromeda lay awake that night thinking. She couldn't be a descendant of Slytherin, could she? Sure, her whole family have been in Slytherin, but Malfoy definitely would have been gloating if there was even a chance he was related to Salazar Slytherin.

She turned over. She'd see Justin the next day in Herbology and she'd explain that her and Harry had been calling the snake off, not egging it on, which (she thought angrily, pummelling his pillow) any fool should have realized.

By next morning, however, the snow that had begun in the night had turned into a blizzard so thick that the last Herbology lesson of the term was cancelled: Professor Sprout wanted to fit socks and scarves on the Mandrakes, a tricky operation she would entrust to no one else, now that it was so important for the Mandrakes to grow quickly and revive Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey.

Harry and Andromeda fretted about this next to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, while Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione used their time off to play a game of wizard chess.

"For heaven's sake, you two," said Hermione, exasperated, as one of Noah's bishops wrestled her knight off his horse and dragged him off the board. "Go and find Justin if it's so important to you."

So Harry and Andromeda got up and left through the portrait hole, wondering where Justin might be.

The castle was darker than it usually was in daytime because of the thick, swirling gray snow at every window. Shivering, Harry and Andromeda walked past classrooms where lessons were taking place, catching snatches of what was happening within. Professor McGonagall was shouting at someone who, by the sound of it, had turned his friend into a badger. Resisting the urge to take a look, they walked on by, thinking that Justin might be using his free time to catch up on some work, and deciding to check the library first.

A group of the Hufliepuffs who should have been in Herbology were indeed sitting at the back of the library, but they didn't seem to be working. Between the long lines of high bookshelves, Andromeda could see that their heads were close together and they were having what looked like an absorbing conversation. She couldn't see whether Justin was among them. Her and Harry were walking toward them when something of what they were saying met her ears, and she paused to listen, hidden in the Invisibility section.

"So anyway," a stout boy was saying, "I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter and Black's marked him down as their next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter and Black he was Muggle-born. Justin actually told them he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?"

"You definitely think it is them, then, Ernie?" said a girl with blonde pigtails anxiously.

"Hannah," said the stout boy solemnly, "their Parselmouths. Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue."

There was some heavy murmuring at this, and Ernie went on, "Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, Beware. Potter and Black had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Flich's cat's attacked. That first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. Next thing we know - Creevey's been attacked."

"They've always seems so nice, though," said Hannah uncertainly, "and, well, he's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear and they fought him last year. They can't be all bad, can they?"

Ernie lowered his voice mysteriously, the Hufflepuffs bent closer, and Harry and Andromeda edged nearer so that they could catch Ernie's words.

"No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who. I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that." He dropped his voice until it was barely more than a whisper, and said, "That's probably why You- Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord competing with him. I wonder what other powers Potter's been hiding? And plus, Black is the daughter of a mass murderer. All the teachers say that she's just like him. What's to say she isn't following in his footsteps?"

Andromeda couldn't take anymore. Clearing her throat loudly, she stepped out from behind the bookshelves, pulling Harry with her. If she hadn't been feeling so angry, she would have found the sight that greeted them funny: Every one of the Hufflepuffs looked as though they had been petrified by the sight of them, and the colour was draining out of Ernie's face.

"Hello," said Harry. "We're looking for Justin Finch-Fletchley."

The Hufepuffs' worst fears had clearly been confirmed. They all looked fearfully at Ernie.

"What do you want with him?" said Ernie in a quavering voice.

"We wanted to tell him what really happened with that snake at the Duelling Club," said Andromeda.

Ernie bit his white lips and then, taking a deep breath, said, "We were all there. We saw what happened."

"Then you noticed that after we spoke to it, the snake backed off?" said Harry.

"All I saw," said Ernie stubbornly, though he was trembling as he spoke, "was you two speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake toward Justin."

"We didn't chase it at him!" Harry said, his voice shaking with anger. "It didn't even touch him!"

"It was a very near miss," said Ernie. "And in case you're getting ideas," he added hastily, "I might tell you that you can trace my family back through nine generations of witches and warlocks and my blood's as pure as anyone's, so -"

"We don't care what sort of blood you've got!" said Andromeda fiercely, her hair turning red. "Why would we want to attack Muggle-borns?"

"I've heard you hate those Muggles you two live with," said Ernie swiftly.

"It's not possible to live with the Dursleys and not hate them," said Harry. "I'd like to see you try it."

They turned on their heels and stormed out of the library, earning themselves a reproving glare from Madam Pince, who was polishing the gilded cover of a large spellbook.

Harry and Andromeda blundered up the corridor, barely noticing where they were going, they were in such a fury. The result was that they walked into something very large and solid, which knocked them backward onto the floor.

"Oh, hello, Hagrid," Harry said, looking up.

Hagrid's face was entirely hidden by a woolly, snow-covered balaclava, but it couldn't possibly be anyone else, as he filled most of the corridor in his moleskin overcoat. A dead rooster was hanging from one of his massive, gloved hands.

"All righ', Harry? 'Dromeda?" he said, pulling up the balaclava so he could speak. "Why aren't yeh in class?"

"Cancelled," said Harry, getting up.

"What're you doing in here?" Andromeda asked.

Hagrid held up the limp rooster.

"Second one killed this term," he explained. "It's either foxes or a Blood-Suckin Bugbear, an' I need the Headmaster's permission ter put a charm around the hen coop."

He peered more closely at Harry and Andromeda from under his thick, snow-flecked eyebrows.

"Yeh sure yeh're all righ' you two? Yeh look all hot an' bothered -"

Andromeda couldn't bring herself to repeat what Ernie and the rest of the Hufflepuffs had been saying about her and Harry.

"It's nothing," she said. "We'd better get going, Hagrid, it's Transfiguration next and we've got to pick up our books."

They walked off, her mind still full of what Ernie had said about him.

"Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter and Black he was Muggle-born..."

Harry and Andromeda stamped up the stairs and turned along another corridor, which was particularly dark; the torches had been extinguished by a strong, icy draft that was blowing through a loose windowpane. They were halfway down the passage when Harry tripped headlong over something lying on the floor.

She turned to squint at what Harry had fallen over and felt as though her stomach had dissolved.

Justin Finch-Fletchley was lying on the floor, rigid and cold, a look of shock frozen on his face, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. And that wasn't all. Next to him was another figure, the strangest sight Andromeda had ever seen.

It was Nearly Headless Nick, no longer pearly-white and transparent, but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal, six inches off the floor. His head was half off and his face wore an expression of shock identical to Justin's.

Andromeda helped Harry to his feet, her breathing fast and shallow, her heart doing a kind of drumroll against her ribs. She looked wildly up and down the deserted corridor and saw a line of spiders scuttling as fast as they could away from the bodies. The only sounds were the muffled voices of teachers from the classes on either side.

They could run, and no one would ever know they had been there. But they couldn't just leave them lying here... They had to get help... Would anyone believe they hadn't had anything to do with this?

As they stood there, panicking, a door right next to them opened with a bang. Peeves the Poltergeist came shooting out.

"Why, it's potty wee Potter and black sheep Black!" cackled Peeves, knocking Harry's glasses askew as he bounced past him. "What's Potter up to? Why's Black lurking -"

Peeves stopped, halfway through a midair somersault. Upside down, he spotted Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. He flipped the right way up, filled his lungs and, before Andromeda could stop him, screamed, "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"

Crash - crash - crash - door after door flew open along the corridor and people flooded out. For several long minutes, there was a scene of such confusion that Justin was in danger of being squashed and people kept standing in Nearly Headless Nick. Andromeda found herself pinned against the wall with Harry as the teachers shouted for quiet. Professor McGonagall came running, followed by her own class, one of whom still had black-and-white-striped hair. She used her wand to set off a loud bang, which restored silence, and ordered everyone back into their classes. No sooner had the scene cleared somewhat than Ernie the Hufflepuff arrived, panting, on the scene.

"Caught them in the act!" Ernie yelled, his face stark white, pointing his finger dramatically at Harry and Andromeda.

"That will do, Macmillan!" said Professor McGonagall sharply.

Peeves was bobbing overhead, now grinning wickedly, surveying the scene; Peeves always loved chaos. As the teachers bent over Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, examining them, Peeves broke into song:

"Oh, Potter, you rotter, and Black you wrack, oh, what have you done. You're killing off' students, you think it's good fun -"

"That's enough Peeves!" barked Professor McGonagall, and Peeves zoomed away backward, with his tongue out at Harry and Andromeda. She found she wasn't very fond of Peeves at that moment.

Justin was carried up to the hospital wing by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra of the Astronomy department, but nobody seemed to know what to do for Nearly Headless Nick. In the end, Professor McGonagall conjured a large fan out of thin air, which she gave to Ernie with instructions to waft Nearly Headless Nick up the stairs. This Ernie did, fanning Nick along like a silent black hovercraft. This left Harry, Andromeda and Professor McGonagall alone together.

"This way, Potter, Black," she said.

"Professor," said Harry at once, "I swear we didn't -"

"This is out of my hands, Potter," said Professor McGonagall curtly.

They marched in silence around a corner and she stopped before a large and extremely ugly stone gargoyle.

"Lemon drop!" she said. This was evidently a password, because the gargoyle sprang suddenly to life and hopped aside as the wall behind him split in two. Even full of dread for what was coming, Andromeda couldn't fail to be amazed. Behind the wall was a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward, like an escalator. As she, Harry and Professor McGonagall stepped onto it, she heard the wall thud closed behind them. They rose upward in circles, higher and higher, until at last, slightly dizzy, Andromeda saw a gleaming oak door ahead, with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin.

She knew now where they were being taken. This must be where Dumbledore lived.


	12. Chapter 12 - The Polyjuice Potion

**Chapter 12 - The Polyjuice Potion**

They stepped off the stone staircase at the top, and Professor McGonagall rapped on the door. It opened silently and they entered. Professor McGonagall told Harry and Andromeda to wait and left them there, alone.

Andromeda looked around. One thing was certain: of all the teachers' offices Andromeda had visited so far, and there were a few, Dumbledore's was by far the most interesting. If she hadn't been scared out of her wits that she was about to be thrown out of school, she would have been very pleased to have a chance to look around it.

It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tattered wizard's hat - the Sorting Hat.

Harry walked quietly around the desk, lifted the hat from its shelf.

"Harry," Andromeda hissed. "What are you doing?"

But Harry ignored her and lowered it slowly onto his head. It was much too large and slipped down over his eyes, just as it had done the last time he'd put it on.

After a moment, he grabbed the point of the hat and pulled it off. It hung limply in his hand, grubby and faded. Harry pushed it back onto its shelf, feeling sick.

"You're wrong," he said aloud to the still and silent hat. It didn't move. Harry backed away, watching it.

"What was it wrong about?" Andromeda asked.

"It said I would do great in Slytherin."

Then a strange, gagging noise behind them made them wheel around.

They weren't alone after all. Standing on a golden perch behind the door was a decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey. Andromeda and Harry stared at it and the bird looked balefully back, making its gagging noise again. Andromeda thought it looked very ill. Its eyes were dull and, even as Andromeda watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its tail.

Andromeda was just thinking that all they needed was for Dumbledore's pet bird to die while they were alone in the office with it, when the bird burst into flames.

Harry yelled in shock and Andromeda backed away into the desk. She looked feverishly around in case there was a glass of water somewhere but couldn't see one; the bird, meanwhile, had become a fireball; it gave one loud shriek and next second there was nothing but a smouldering pile of ash on the floor.

The office door opened. Dumbledore came in, looking very sombre.

"Professor," Harry gasped. "Your bird - we couldn't do anything - he just caught fire -"

To Andromeda's astonishment, Dumbledore smiled.

"About time, too," he said. "He's been looking dreadful for days; I've been telling him to get a move on."

He chuckled at the stunned look on Harry's and Andromeda's faces.

"Fawkes is a phoenix. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him . . ."

Andromeda looked down in time to see a tiny, wrinkled, newborn bird poke its head out of the ashes. It was quite as ugly as the old one.

"It's a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day," said Dumbledore, seating himself behind his desk. "He's really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."

In the shock of Fawkes catching fire, Andromeda had forgotten what they were there for, but it all came back to her as Dumbledore settled himself in the high chair behind the desk and fixed Harry and Andromeda with his penetrating, light-blue stare.

Before Dumbledore could speak another word, however, the door of the office flew open with an almighty bang and Hagrid burst in, a wild look in his eyes, his balaclava perched on top of his shaggy black head and the dead rooster still swinging from his hand.

"It wasn' Harry and Andromeda, Professor Dumbledore!" said Hagrid urgently. "I was talkin' ter them seconds before that kid was found, they never had time, sir - "

Dumbledore tried to say something, but Hagrid went ranting on, waving the rooster around in his agitation, sending feathers everywhere.

"- it can't've bin them, I'll swear it in front o' the Ministry o' Magic if I have to -"

"Hagrid, I -"

"- yeh've got the wrong kids, sir, I know Harry and 'Dromeda never -'

"Hagrid!" said Dumbledore loudly. "I do not think that Harry nor Andromeda attacked those people."

"Oh," said Hagrid, the rooster falling limply at his side. "Right. I'll wait outside then, Headmaster."

And he stomped out looking embarrassed.

"You don't think it was us, Professor?" Andromeda repeated hopefully as Dumbledore brushed rooster feathers off his desk.

"No, Andromeda, I don't," said Dumbledore, though his face was sombre again. "But I still want to talk to you two."

Harry and Andromeda waited nervously while Dumbledore considered them, the tips of his long fingers together.

"I must ask you, Harry, Andromeda, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me," he said gently. "Anything at all."

Andromeda didn't know what to say. She thought of Malfoy shouting, "You'll be next, Mudbloods!" and of the Polyjuice Potion simmering away in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Then she thought of the disembodied voice she had heard twice and remembered what Noah had said: "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world." She thought, too, about what everyone was saying about her and Harry, and her growing dread that she was somehow connected with Salazar Slytherin...

"No," said Andromeda. "There isn't anything, Professor . . . ."

The double attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick turned what had hitherto been nervousness into real panic. Curiously, it was Nearly Headless Nick's fate that seemed to worry people most. "What could possibly do that to a ghost?" people asked each other; "what terrible power could harm someone who was already dead?" There was almost a stampede to book seats on the Hogwarts Express so that students could go home for Christmas.

"At this rate, we'll be the only ones left," Ron told Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione. "Us, Malfoy, Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle. What a jolly holiday it's going to be."

Crabbe and Goyle, who always did whatever Malfoy did, had signed up to stay over the holidays, too, as did some of the other second-year Slytherins. But Andromeda was glad that most people were leaving. She was tired of people skirting around her in the corridors, as though she was about to sprout fangs or spit poison; tired of all the muttering, pointing, and hissing as she passed.

Fred and George, however, found all this very funny. They went out of their way to march ahead of Harry and Andromeda down the corridors, shouting, "Make way for the Heirs of Slytherin, seriously evil witch and wizard coming through..."

Percy was deeply disapproving of this behaviour.

"It is not a laughing matter," he said coldly.

"Oh, get out of the way, Percy," said Fred. "Harry and Andromeda's in a hurry."

"Yeah, they're off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with their fanged servant," said George, chortling.

Ginny didn't find it amusing either.

"Oh, don't," she wailed every time Fred asked Harry or Andromeda loudly who they were planning to attack next, or when George pretended to ward Harry and Andromeda off with a large clove of garlic when they met.

Andromeda didn't mind, even thought it was hilarious. It made her feel better that Fred and George, at least, thought the idea of her and Harry being Slytherin's heir was quite ludicrous. But their antics seemed to be aggravating Draco Malfoy, who looked increasingly sour each time he saw them at it.

"It's because he's bursting to say it's really him," said Ron knowingly. "You know how he hates anyone beating him at anything, and you're getting all the credit for his dirty work."

"Not for long," said Dorcas in a satisfied tone. "The Polyjuice Potion's nearly ready. We'll be getting the truth out of him any day now. Hermione and I have been checking on it whenever we can."

At last the term ended, and a silence deep as the snow on the grounds descended on the castle. Andromeda found it peaceful, rather than gloomy, and enjoyed the fact that she, Harry, Dorcas, Noah, Hermione, and the Weasleys had the run of Gryffindor Tower, which meant they could play Exploding Snap loudly without bothering anyone, and practice duelling in private. Fred, George, and Ginny had chosen to stay at school rather than visit Bill in Egypt with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Percy, who disapproved of what he termed their childish behaviour, didn't spend much time in the Gryffindor common room. He had already told them pompously that he was only staying over Christmas because it was his duty as a prefect to support the teachers during this troubled time.

Once again, just like last Christmas holidays, Andromeda moved into the boy's dormitory, despite Dorcas and Hermione's protests. Whenever they could, Andromeda and Harry snuck away from everyone so Andromeda could practice turning into a dog and back again. She remembered what Remus had told her last year: " _Try concentrating on changing, imagine yourself as a dog. That's what your father did."_ Once, she was stuck as a dog for a few hours and their friends were very confused as to why Harry was sneaking a dog into the common room.

Two days before Christmas day however found Andromeda turning into a dog and back again with no difficulty.

Christmas morning dawned, cold and white. Harry, Ron, Noah and Andromeda, were woken very early by Hermione and Dorcas, who burst in, fully dressed and carrying presents for them all.

"Wake up," Hermione said loudly, pulling back the curtains at the window.

"Hermione - you're not supposed to be in here -" said Ron, shielding his eyes against the light.

"Why, Ron?" Andromeda said. "I am."

"Yeah, but you're always in here."

"Merry Christmas to you, too," said Hermione, throwing Ron his present. "We've been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the potion. It's ready."

Andromeda sat up, suddenly wide awake.

"Are you sure?" Noah asked, blinking sleep out of his eyes.

"Positive," said Dorcas, shifting Scabbers the rat so that she could sit down on the end of Ron's four-poster. "If we're going to do it, I say it should be tonight."

At that moment, Hedwig swooped into the room, carrying a very small package in her beak.

"Hello," said Harry happily as she landed on his bed. "Are you speaking to me again?"

She nibbled his ear in an affectionate sort of way, which was a far better present than the ones that she had brought him, which turned out to be from the Dursleys. They had sent Harry and Andromeda a toothpick and a note telling them to find out whether they'd be able to stay at Hogwarts for the summer vacation, too.

The rest of Andromeda's Christmas presents were far more satisfactory. Hagrid had sent her a large tin of treacle fudge, which Andromeda decided to soften by the fire before eating; Ron had given her a book called _Flying with the Cannons_ , a book of interesting facts about his favourite Quidditch team, and Hermione had bought her a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. Dorcas, Noah and Remus had given her a large box of Chocolate Frogs. Andromeda opened the last present to find a new, hand-knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley and a large plum cake. She read her card with a fresh surge of guilt, thinking about Mr. Weasley's car (which hadn't been seen since its crash with the Whomping Willow), and the bout of rule-breaking she, Harry and Ron were planning next.

No one, not even someone dreading entering the Slytherin common room later, could fail to enjoy Christmas dinner at Hogwarts.

The Great Hall looked magnificent. Not only were there a dozen frost-covered Christmas trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling. Dumbledore led them in a few of his favourite carols, Hagrid booming more and more loudly with every goblet of eggnog he consumed. Percy, who hadn't noticed that Fred had bewitched his prefect badge so that it now read "Pinhead," kept asking them all what they were sniggering at. Andromeda didn't even care that Draco Malfoy was making loud, snide remarks about hers and Harry's new sweaters from the Slytherin table. With a bit of luck, Malfoy would be getting his comeuppance in a few hours' time.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron had barely finished their third helpings of Christmas pudding when Hermione ushered them out of the hall to finalize their plans for the evening.

"We still need a bit of the people you're changing into," said Hermione matter-of-factly, as though she were sending them to the supermarket for laundry detergent. "And obviously, it'll be best if you can get something of Crabbe's and Goyle's; they're Malfoys best friends, he'll tell them anything. And we also need to make sure the real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst in on us while we're interrogating him.

"We've got it all worked out," Dorcas went on smoothly, ignoring Harry's, Andromeda's, Noah's and Ron's stupefied faces. She held up four plump chocolate cakes. "We've filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. All you have to do is make sure Pansy, Zabini, Crabbe and Goyle find them. Once they're asleep, pull out a few of their hairs and hide them in a broom closet."

Harry, Andromeda, Noah and Ron looked incredulously at each other.

"Hermione, I don't think -"

"Dorcas, hat could go seriously wrong -"

But Hermione had a steely glint in her eye not unlike the one Professor McGonagall sometimes had.

"The potion will be useless without their hair," she said sternly. "You do want to investigate Malfoy, don't you?"

"Oh, all right, all right," said Harry. "But what about you? Whose hair are you ripping out?"

"I've already got mine!" said Hermione brightly, pulling a tiny bottle out of her pocket and showing them the single hair inside it. "Remember Millicent Bulstrode wrestling with me at the Duelling Club? She left this on my robes when she was trying to strangle me! And she's gone home for Christmas - so I'll just have to tell the Slytherins I've decided to come back."

When Hermione had bustled off to check on the Polyjuice Potion again, Ron turned to Harry, Andromeda and Noah with a doom-laden expression.

"Have you ever heard of a plan where so many things could go wrong?"

But to everyone's utter amazement, stage one of the operation went just as smoothly as Dorcas had said. They lurked in the deserted entrance hall after Christmas tea. Andromeda one by one levitated the cakes over to the Slytherin table in front of them. Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle all grabbed one of the cakes and ate them on their way out of the Hall.

For a moment, all of them chewed greedily, looks of triumph on their faces. Then, without the smallest change of expression, they all keeled over backward onto the floor.

By far the hardest part was hiding them in the closet across the hall. Once they were safely stowed among the buckets and mops, Andromeda kept watch while Harry yanked out a couple of the bristles that covered Goyle's fore head and Ron pulled out several of Crabbe's hairs. Dorcas took some of Pansy Parkinson's hair and Noah grabbed some of Zabini's. They also stole their shoes so that their feet would be in the right sized shoes. Then, still stunned at what they had just done, they sprinted up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

They could hardly see for the thick black smoke issuing from the stall in which Hermione was stirring the cauldron. Pulling their robes up over their faces, Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron knocked softly on the door.

"Hermione?"

They heard the scrape of the lock and Hermione emerged, shiny- faced and looking anxious. Behind her they heard the gloop gloop of the bubbling, glutinous potion. Three glass tumblers stood ready on the toilet seat.

"Did you get them?" Hermione asked breathlessly.

Harry showed her Goyle's hair.

"Good. And I sneaked these spare robes out of the laundry," Hermione said, holding up a small sack. "You'll need different sizes once you have changed."

The six of them stared into the cauldron. Close up, the potion looked like thick, dark mud, bubbling sluggishly.

"I'm sure we've done everything right," said Hermione, nervously rereading the splotched page of Moste Potente Potions. "It looks like the book says it should ... once we've drunk it, we'll have exactly an hour before we change back into ourselves."

"Now what?" Noah whispered.

"We separate it into five glasses and add the hairs."

Hermione ladled large dollops of the potion into each of the glasses. Then, her hand trembling, she shook Millicent Bulstrode's hair out of its bottle into the first glass. The potion hissed loudly like a boiling kettle and frothed madly. A second later, it had turned a sick sort of yellow.

"Andromeda, are you sure you have whatever it is you're doing under control?" Dorcas said.

As a reply, Andromeda turned into a dog while everyone stared at her. She barked at them and they looked away to their potions that Hermione was holding out for them.

Everyone dropped their hairs in their potions.

"Hang on," said Harry as Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione raised their glasses to their lips. "We'd better not all drink them in here ... Once we turn into Crabbe and Goyle we won't fit. And Millicent Bulstrode's no pixie."

"Good thinking," said Ron, unlocking the door. "We'll take separate stalls."

Careful not to spill a drop of his Polyjuice Potion, Harry slipped into the middle stall.

"Ready?" he called.

"Ready," came Ron's, Dorcas', Noah's and Hermione's voices.

"One - two - three -"

After a few minutes, Harry, Ron, Noah and Dorcas emerged from their stalls and racing to find a mirror.

"This is unbelievable," said Ron, approaching the mirror and prodding Crabbe's flat nose. "Unbelievable."

"We'd better get going," said Harry, loosening the watch that was cutting into Goyle's thick wrist. "We've still got to find out where the Slytherin common room is. I only hope we can find someone to follow..."

Noah, who had been gazing at Harry, said, "You don't know how bizarre it is to see Goyle thinking." He banged on Hermione's door. "C'mon, we need to go -"

A high-pitched voice answered him.

"I - I don't think I'm going to come after all. You go on without me.

"Hermione, we know Millicent Bulstrode's ugly, no one's going to know it's you -"

"No - really - I don't think I'll come. You five hurry up, you're wasting time

Everyone looked at each other bewildered.

"That looks more like Goyle," said Ron. "That's how he looks every time a teacher asks him a question."

"Hermione, are you okay?" said Dorcas through the door.

"Fine - I'm fine - go on -"

Harry looked at his watch. Five of their precious sixty minutes had already passed.

"We'll meet you back here, all right?" he said.

Harry and Noah opened the door of the bathroom carefully, checked that the coast was clear, and everyone filed out.

 _This is so weird_ , Andromeda thought as she looked up at the people around her. Being a dog was probably the strangest feeling to hr, but she couldn't help but think that it made her feel free.

They went down the marble staircase. All they needed now was a Slytherin that they could follow to the Slytherin common room, but there was nobody around.

"Any ideas?" muttered Noah.

"The Slytherins always come up to breakfast from over there," said Dorcas, nodding at the entrance to the dungeons. The words had barely left her mouth when a girl with long, curly hair emerged from the entrance.

"Excuse me," said Ron, hurrying up to her. "We've forgotten the way to our common room."

"I beg your pardon?" said the girl stiffly. "Our common room? I'm a Ravenclaw."

She walked away, looking suspiciously back at them.

Harry, Dorcas, Noah and Ron hurried down the stone steps into the darkness, their footsteps echoing particularly loudly as Andromeda padded after them.

The labyrinthine passages were deserted. They walked deeper and deeper under the school, constantly checking their watches to see how much time they had left. After a quarter of an hour, just when they were getting desperate, they heard a sudden movement ahead.

"Ha!" said Ron excitedly. "There's one of them now!"

The figure was emerging from a side room. As they hurried nearer, however, their hearts sank. It wasn't a Slytherin, it was Percy.

"What're you doing down here?" said Ron in surprise.

Percy looked affronted.

"That," he said stiffly, "is none of your business. It's Crabbe, isn't it?"

"Wh - oh, yeah," said Ron.

"Well, get off to your dormitories," said Percy sternly. "It's not safe to go wandering around dark corridors these days."

"You are," Ron pointed out.

"I," said Percy, drawing himself up, "am a prefect. Nothing's about to attack me."

A voice suddenly echoed behind Harry and Ron. Draco Malfoy was strolling toward them, and for the first time in his life, Harry was pleased to see him.

"There you are," he drawled, looking at them. "Have you all been pigging out in the Great Hall all this time? I've been looking for you, Crabbe, Goyle; I want to show you something really funny."

Malfoy glanced witheringly at Percy.

"And what're you doing down here, Weasley?" he sneered.

Percy looked outraged.

"You want to show a bit more respect to a school prefect!" he said. "I don't like your attitude!"

Malfoy sneered and motioned for Harry, Dorcas, Noah, and Ron to follow him, not having noticed Andromeda yet. They hurried after Malfoy, who said as they turned into the next passage, "That Peter Weasley -"

"Percy," Ron corrected him automatically.

"Whatever," said Malfoy. "I've noticed him sneaking around a lot lately. And I bet I know what he's up to. He thinks he's going to catch Slytherin's heir single-handed."

He gave a short, derisive laugh. All of the friends, excluding Andromeda, exchanged excited looks. Andromeda couldn't help but feel left out.

Malfoy paused by a stretch of bare, damp stone wall.

"What's the new password again?" he said to Harry.

"Er -" said Harry.

"Oh, yeah -pure-blood!" said Malfoy, not listening, and a stone door concealed in the wall slid open. Malfoy marched through it, and Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron followed him.

The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several Slytherins were silhouetted around it in high-backed chairs.

"Wait here," said Malfoy to everyone, motioning them to a pair of empty chairs set back from the fire. "I'll go and get it my father's just sent it to me -"

Wondering what Malfoy was going to show them, Harry and Ron sat down, doing their best to look at home.

Malfoy came back a minute later, holding what looked like a newspaper clipping. He thrust it under Ron's nose.

"That'll give you a laugh," he said, then glanced at Andromeda. "What's with the dog?"

"Oh – er -" Harry said. "It's a family pet. I have to look after it for the holidays."

Andromeda saw Ron's eyes widen in shock. He read the clipping quickly, gave a very forced laugh, and handed it to along to everyone. When it reached Harry, Andromeda looked over the arm of his chair.

It had been clipped out of the Daily Prophet, and it said:

 _INQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC_

 _Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car._

 _Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for Mr. Weasley's resignation._

 _"Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute," Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. "He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately."_

 _Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she'd set the family ghoul on them._

"Well?" said Malfoy impatiently as Harry handed the clipping back to him. "Don't you think it's funny?"

"Ha, ha," said Noah bleakly.

"Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them," said Malfoy scornfully. "You'd never know the Weasleys were pure-bloods, the way they behave."

Ron's - or rather, Crabbe's - face was contorted with fury.

"What's up with you, Crabbe?" snapped Malfoy.

"Stomachache," Ron grunted.

"Well, go up to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods a kick from me," said Malfoy, snickering. "You know, I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't reported all these attacks yet," he went on thoughtfully. "I suppose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. He'll be sacked if it doesn't stop soon. Father's always said old Dumbledore's the worst thing that's ever happened to this place. He loves Muggle-borns. A decent headmaster would never've let slime like that Creevey in."

Malfoy started taking pictures with an imaginary camera and did a cruel but accurate impression of Colin: "`Potter, can I have your picture, Potter? Can I have your autograph? Can I lick your shoes, please, Potter?"'

He dropped his hands and looked at Harry, Dorcas, Noah and Ron.

"What's the matter with you two?"

Far too late, they forced themselves to laugh, but Malfoy seemed satisfied.

"Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend," said Malfoy slowly. "He's another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn't go around with that jumped up Granger Mudblood. And people think he's Slytherin's heir! And don't get me started on Black! I mean she practically worships Potter, she's not going to kill anyone."

Andromeda growled and thought she just might kill someone if he kept going.

"I mean, she's supposed to be a Black, proud of her family's traditions, but instead she's a blood traitor just like her father."

At this Andromeda snarled at Malfoy, but he didn't notice and kept talking.

"It's a surprise, really, that she hasn't asked Potter out yet, I mean, have you seen the way she looks at him? This whole year she's been giving him heart eyes. I don't know why she's like that, I mean, Potter killed the Dark Lord, her father's master. Ah, it's probably because she knows Potter doesn't like her back, I bet."

Andromeda stopped snarling and just got up and walked out of the common room. She couldn't stand it. She hadn't been giving Harry heart-eyes all year, had she? She had barely even thought about her crush on him. And apparently it was obvious enough that she liked Harry that Malfoy had noticed and told Harry.

Andromeda walked all the way back to the bathroom still in dog form, before changing back to normal once she reached the bathroom.

She walked into the bathroom and knocked on Hermione's stall door.

"Go away!" Hermione squeaked.

"It's just me, 'Mione," Andromeda said dully.

"I don't want to see anyone."

"Neither do I right now but come on."

The door opened and Andromeda was faced with Hermione the Cat. Her face was covered in black fur. Her eyes had turned yellow and there were long, pointed ears poking through her hair.

"You got cat hair, didn't you?" Andromeda asked to which Hermione nodded. "Have you looked to see if there's a potion to reverse it?"

Hermione nodded again before bursting into tears. Andromeda backed her into the stall and locked the door. She patted Hermione on the back.

"Why are you back early?" Hermione asked after a moment.

"Didn't want to stay."

"Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time," Andromeda heard Ron say before the closing of the door. "I know we still haven't found out who's doing the attacks, but I'm going to write to Dad tomorrow and tell him to check under the Malfoys' drawing room."

"Hermione, come out, we've got loads to tell you -"

"Go away!" Hermione squeaked.

"What's the matter?" said Noah. "You must be back to normal by now, we are."

"Ooooooh, wait till you see," Andromeda heard Moaning Myrtle say. "It's awful-"

"What's up?" said Ron uncertainly. "Have you still got Millicent's nose or something?"

Andromeda looked at Hermione and gestured to say they should leave the stall. Hermione emerged, sobbing, her robes pulled up over her head.

When Hermione let her robes fall and Ron backed into the sink.

"It was a c-cat hair!" she howled. "M-Millicent Bulstrode m-must have a cat! And the p-potion isn't supposed to be used for animal transformations!"

"Uh-oh," said Ron.

"You'll be teased something dreadful," said Myrtle happily.

"It's okay, Hermione," said Dorcas quickly. "We'll take you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions..."

It took a long time to persuade Hermione to leave the bathroom. Moaning Myrtle sped them on their way with a hearty guffaw. "Wait till everyone finds out you've got a tail!"

"Oh, shut it," Andromeda snapped at Myrtle.

On their way back to the Gryffindor common room after leaving Hermione at the hospital wing, Harry, Dorcas and Ron filled Andromeda in on what she had missed. It turns out that Andromeda had been right all along and that Malfoy wasn't the heir of Slytherin and that the Chamber of Secrets had, in fact, been opened fifty years ago.

Once they were in the common room, they said their goodbyes to each other.

As Andromeda and Dorcas turned to go to the girl's dormitory, Harry said, "Andy, wait. Can I talk to you?"

Andromeda, knowing what it was going to be about, shook her head and carried on walking upstairs to her dorm.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Very Secret Diary

**Chapter 13 - The Very Secret Diary**

Hermione remained in the hospital wing for several weeks. There was a flurry of rumour about her disappearance when the rest of the school arrived back from their Christmas holidays, because of course everyone thought that she had been attacked. So many students filed past the hospital wing trying to catch a glimpse of her that Madam Pomfrey took out her curtains again and placed them around Hermione's bed, to spare her the shame of being seen with a furry face.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron went to visit her every evening. When the new term started, they brought her each day's homework.

"If Id sprouted whiskers, I'd take a break from work," said Ron, tipping a stack of books onto Hermione's bedside table one evening.

"Don't be silly, Ron, I've got to keep up," said Hermione briskly. Her spirits were greatly improved by the fact that all the hair had gone from her face and her eyes were turning slowly back to brown. "I don't suppose you've got any new leads?" she added in a whisper, so that Madam Pomfrey couldn't hear her.

"Nothing," said Noah gloomily.

"I was so sure it was Malfoy," said Ron, for about the hundredth time.

"What's that?" asked Harry, pointing to something gold sticking out from under Hermione's pillow.

"Just a get well card," said Hermione hastily, trying to poke it out of sight, but Ron was too quick for her. He pulled it out, flicked it open, and read aloud:

"To Miss Granger, wishing you a speedy recovery, from your concerned teacher, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most- Charming-Smile Award."

Ron looked up at Hermione, disgusted.

"You sleep with this under your pillow?"

But Hermione was spared answering by Madam Pomfrey sweeping over with her evening dose of medicine.

"Is Lockhart the smarmiest bloke you've ever met, or what?" Ron said to Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas and Noah as they left the infirmary and started up the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower. Snape had given them so much homework, Andromeda thought she was likely to be in the sixth year before she finished it. Ron was just saying he wished he had asked Hermione how many rat tails you were supposed to add to a Hair-Raising Potion when an angry outburst from the floor above reached their ears.

"That's Filch," Harry muttered as they hurried up the stairs and paused, out of sight, listening hard.

"You don't think someone else's been attacked?" said Ron tensely.

They stood still, their heads inclined toward Flich's voice, which sounded quite hysterical.

`- even more work for me! Mopping all night, like I haven't got enough to do! No, this is the final straw, I'm going to Dumbledore -"

His footsteps receded along the out-of-sight corridor and they heard a distant door slam.

They poked their heads around the corner. Filch had clearly been manning his usual lookout post: They were once again on the spot where Mrs. Norris had been attacked. They saw at a glance what Filch had been shouting about. A great flood of water stretched over half the corridor, and it looked as though it was still seeping from under the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Now that Filch had stopped shouting, they could hear Myrtle's wails echoing off the bathroom walls.

"Now what's up with her?" said Noah.

"Let's go and see," said Andromeda, and holding their robes over their ankles they stepped through the great wash of water to the door bearing its OUT OF ORDER sign, ignored it as always, and entered.

Moaning Myrtle was crying, if possible, louder and harder than ever before. She seemed to be hiding down her usual toilet. It was dark in the bathroom because the candles had been extinguished in the great rush of water that had left both walls and floor soaking wet.

"What's up, Myrtle?" said Harry.

"Who's that?" glugged Myrtle miserably. "Come to throw something else at me?"

Harry waded across to her stall and said, "Why would I throw something at you?"

"Don't ask me," Myrtle shouted, emerging with a wave of yet more water, which splashed onto the already sopping floor. "Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me ...

"But it can't hurt you if someone throws something at you," said Noah, reasonably. "I mean, it'd just go right through you, wouldn't it?"

He had said the wrong thing. Myrtle puffed herself up and shrieked, "Let's all throw books at Myrtle, because she can't feel it! Ten points if you can get it through her stomach! Fifty points if it goes through her head! Well, ha, ha, ha! What a lovely game, I don't think!"

"Who threw it at you, anyway?" asked Andromeda.

"I don't know... I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, and it fell right through the top of my head," said Myrtle, glaring at them. "It's over there, it got washed out..."

They all under the sink where Myrtle was pointing. A small, thin book lay there. It had a shabby black cover and was as wet as everything else in the bathroom. Andromeda stepped forward to pick it up, but Ron suddenly flung out an arm to hold her back.

"What?" said Andromeda.

"Are you crazy?" said Noah. "It could be dangerous."

"Dangerous?"said Andromeda, laughing. "Come off it, how could it be dangerous?"

"You'd be surprised," said Ron, who was looking apprehensively at the book. "Some of the books the Ministry's confiscated Dad's told me - there was one that burned your eyes out. And everyone who read Sonnets of a Sorcerer spoke in limericks for the rest of their lives. And some old witch in Bath had a book that you could never stop reading! You just had to wander around with your nose in it, trying to do everything one-handed. And -"

"All right, I've got the point," said Andromeda.

The little book lay on the floor, nondescript and soggy.

"Well, we won't find out unless we look at it," she said, and she ducked around Ron and picked it up off the floor.

Andromeda saw at once that it was a diary, and the faded year on the cover told him it was fifty years old. He opened it eagerly. On the first page he could just make out the name "T M. Riddle" in smudged ink.

"Hang on," said Ron, who had approached cautiously and was looking over Andromeda's shoulder. "I know that name ... T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago."

"How on earth d'you know that?" said Dorcas in amazement.

"Because Filch made me polish his shield about fifty times in detention," said Ron resentfully. "That was the one I burped slugs all over. If you'd wiped slime off a name for an hour, you'd remember it, too."

Andromeda peeled the wet pages apart. They were completely blank. There wasn't the faintest trace of writing on any of them, not even Auntie Mabel's birthday, or dentist, half-past three.

"He never wrote in it," said Harry, disappointed.

"I wonder why someone wanted to flush it away?" said Ron curiously.

Andromeda turned to the back cover of the book and saw the printed name of a variety store on Vauxhall Road, London.

"He must've been Muggle-born," said Noah thoughtfully. "To have bought a diary from Vauxhall Road..."

"Well, it's not much use to you," said Ron. He dropped his voice. "Fifty points if you can get it through Myrtle's nose."

Andromeda, however, pocketed it.

Hermione left the hospital wing, de-whiskered, tail-less, and fur-free, at the beginning of February. On her first evening back in Gryffindor Tower, Andromeda showed her T. M. Riddle's diary and told her the story of how they had found it.

"Oooh, it might have hidden powers," said Hermione enthusiastically, taking the diary and looking at it closely.

"If it has, it's hiding them very well," said Ron. "Maybe it's shy. I don't know why you don't chuck it, 'Dromeda."

"I wish I knew why someone did try to chuck it," said Harry. "I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts either."

"Could've been anything," said Ron. "Maybe he got thirty .s or saved a teacher from the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would've done everyone a favour..."

But Andromeda could tell from the arrested look on Hermione's face that she was thinking what she was thinking.

"What?" said Ron, looking from one to the other.

"Well, the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, wasn't it?" he said. "That's what Malfoy said."

"Yeah. . ." said Ron slowly.

"And this diary is fifty years old," said Hermione, tapping it excitedly.

"So?"

"Oh, Ron, wake up," snapped Hermione. "We know the person who opened the Chamber last time was expelled fifty years ago. We know T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago. Well, what if Riddle got his special award for catching the Heir of Slytherin? His diary would probably tell us everything - where the Chamber is, and how to open it, and what sort of creature lives in it - the person who's behind the attacks this time wouldn't want that lying around, would they?"

"That's a brilliant theory, Hermione," said Noah, "with just one tiny little flaw. There's nothing written in his diary."

But Hermione was pulling her wand out of her bag.

"It might be invisible ink!" she whispered.

She tapped the diary three times and said, "Aparecium!"

Nothing happened. Undaunted, Hermione shoved her hand back into her bag and pulled out what appeared to be a bright red eraser.

"It's a Revealer, I got it in Diagon Alley," she said.

She rubbed hard on January first. Nothing happened.

"I'm telling you, there's nothing to find in there," said Dorcas. "Riddle just got a diary for Christmas and couldn't be bothered filling it in."

Andromeda couldn't explain, even to herself, why she didn't just throw Riddle's diary away. The fact was that even though she knew the diary was blank, she kept absentmindedly picking it up and turning the pages, as though it were a story she wanted to finish. And while Andromeda was sure she had never heard the name T. M. Riddle before, it still seemed to mean something to her, almost as though Riddle was a friend she'd had when he was very small, and had half-forgotten. But this was absurd. She'd never had friends before Hogwarts except for Harry, Dudley had made sure of that.

Nevertheless, Andromeda was determined to find out more about Riddle, so next day at break, she headed for the trophy room to examine Riddle's special award, accompanied by Harry, who she had barely talked to since Christmas night. Even now, as they inspected the trophy, Andromeda tried avoiding any conversation Harry brought up, only answering sometimes.

She knew it was cowardly and childish, but she didn't want to have a conversation with Harry about it where her heart would be crushed from his rejection.

Riddle's burnished gold shield was tucked away in a corner cabinet. It didn't carry details of why it had been given to him. However, they did find Riddle's name on an old Medal for Magical Merit, and on a list of old Head Boys.

"He sounds like Percy," said Harry, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Prefect, Head Boy ... probably top of every class -"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," said Andromeda in a slightly hurt voice.

A few minutes of silence passed, then –

"Will you stop ignoring me?" Harry blurted out.

"I'm not ignoring you, see? I'm talking."

"Look, can we just forget about what Malfoy said? I want my best friend back."

Andromeda looked at him stonily, but then sighed and nodded. "Okay."

The sun had now begun to shine weakly on Hogwarts again. Inside the castle, the mood had grown more hopeful. There had been no more attacks since those on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, and Madam Pomfrey was pleased to report that the Mandrakes were becoming moody and secretive, meaning that they were fast leaving childhood.

"The moment their acne clears up, they'll be ready for repotting again," Andromeda heard her telling Filch kindly one afternoon. "And after that, it won't be long until we're cutting them up and stewing them. You'll have Mrs. Norris back in no time."

Perhaps the Heir of Slytherin had lost his or her nerve, thought Andromeda. It must be getting riskier and riskier to open the Chamber of Secrets, with the school so alert and suspicious. Perhaps the monster, whatever it was, was even now settling itself down to hibernate for another fifty years..."

Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff didn't take this cheerful view. He was still convinced that Harry and Andromeda were the guilty ones, that they had "given themselves away" at the Duelling Club. Peeves wasn't helping matters; he kept popping up in the crowded corridors singing "Oh, Potter, you rotter and Black you wrack . . ." now with a dance routine to match.

Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to think he himself had made the attacks stop. Andromeda overheard him telling Professor McGonagall so while the Gryffindors were lining up for Transfiguration.

"I don't think there'll be any more trouble, Minerva," he said, tapping his nose knowingly and winking. "I think the Chamber has been locked for good this time. The culprit must have known it was only a matter of time before I caught him. Rather sensible to stop now, before I came down hard on him.

"You know, what the school needs now is a morale-booster. Wash away the memories of last term! I won't say any more just now, but I think I know just the thing . . . ."

He tapped his nose again and strode off.

Lockhart's idea of a morale-booster became clear at breakfast time on February fourteenth. Andromeda hadn't had much sleep because of a late-running Quidditch practice the night before, and she hurried down to the Great Hall with Harry, slightly late. She thought, for a moment, that she'd walked through the wrong doors.

The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. They went over to the Gryffindor table, where Ron was sitting looking sickened, and Hermione seemed to have been overcome with giggles. Dorcas and Noah were laughing at a letter.

"What's going on?" Harry asked them, sitting down and wiping confetti off his bacon.

Ron pointed to the teachers' table, apparently too disgusted to speak. Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced. From where she sat, Andromeda could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall's cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all - and it doesn't end here!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison.

"Please, Hermione, tell me you weren't one of the forty-six," said Ron. Hermione suddenly became very interested in searching her bag for her schedule and didn't answer.

Noah suddenly stood up and dragged Andromeda out of the Great Hall. They walked for a few minutes before he suddenly stopped.

"Do you reckon Dorcas likes me?" he said softly, looking at the ground. "I mean, I know it'll be weird if I asked her out because I live with her and she's my best friend, but..."

"Why don't you send her a card anonymously and see if she likes it?" Andromeda suggested.

"'Dromeda! You're brilliant!"

He marched over to one of the cupids.

"I meant with an owl, you dolt," Andromeda muttered to herself, but didn't stop him.

Dorcas' card arrived in Herbology, popping up out of nowhere beside Andromeda making her jump into a table, her arm getting caught in a plant.

The dwarf cleared his throat loudly and started to sing:

 _"_ _Dorcas, hair as brown as wood and eyes like the sky,_

 _Beautiful even when you cry,_

 _Red cheeks like roses, darling you look stunning,_

 _Happy Valentine's Day."_

Everyone, even Dorcas burst out with laughter. Beside Andromeda, Noah shook his head and muttered, "Great, she's laughing. Probably thinks it's a joke."

He sounded so heartbroken that Andromeda stopped laughing and patted him on the back.

All day long, the dwarfs kept barging into their classes to deliver valentines, to the annoyance of the teachers, and late that afternoon as the Gryffindors were walking upstairs for Charms, after Harry offered to carry Andromeda's bag because she had hurt her arm in Herbology, one of the dwarfs caught up with Harry.

"Oy, you! 'Arry Potter!" shouted a particularly grim-looking dwarf, elbowing people out of the way to get to Harry. "I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person," he said, twanging his harp in a threatening sort of way.

"Not here," Harry hissed, trying to escape.

"Stay still!" grunted the dwarf, grabbing hold of Andromeda's bag and pulling him back.

"Let me go!" Harry snarled, tugging.

With a loud ripping noise, Andromeda's bag split in two. Her books, wand, parchment, and quill spilled onto the floor and her ink bottle smashed over everything.

Harry and Andromeda scrambled around, trying to pick it all up before the dwarf started singing, causing something of a holdup in the corridor.

"What's going on here?" came the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. Andromeda started stuffing everything feverishly into her ripped bag.

"What's all this commotion?" said another familiar voice as Percy Weasley arrived.

Harry tried to make a run for it, but the dwarf seized him around the knees and brought him crashing to the floor.

"Right," he said, sitting on Harry's ankles. "Here is your singing valentine:

 _His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_

 _His hair is as dark as a blackboard. I wish he was mine, he's really divine,_

 _The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."_

Andromeda laughed along with everyone surrounding them and helped him up as Percy Weasley did his best to disperse the crowd, some of whom were crying with mirth.

"Off you go, off you go, the bell rang five minutes ago, off to class, now," he said, shooing some of the younger students away. "And you, Malfoy-"

Andromeda, glancing over, saw Malfoy stoop and snatch up something. Leering, he showed it to Crabbe and Goyle, and Andromeda realized that he'd got Riddle's diary.

She glanced at Harry.

"Give that back," said Harry quietly.

"Wonder what Black's written in this?" said Malfoy, who obviously hadn't noticed the year on the cover and thought he had Andromeda's own diary. A hush fell over the onlookers. Ginny was staring from the diary to Harry to Andromeda, looking terrified.

"Hand it over, Malfoy," said Percy sternly.

"When I've had a look," said Malfoy, waving the diary tauntingly at Andromeda.

Percy said, "As a school prefect -" but Andromeda had lost her temper. She pulled out her wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and just as Snape had disarmed Lockhart, so Malfoy found the diary shooting out of his hand into the air. Ron, grinning broadly, caught it.

"Andromeda!" said Percy loudly. "No magic in the corridors. I'll have to report this, you know!"

But Andromeda didn't care, she was one-up on Malfoy, and that was worth five points from Gryffindor any day. Malfoy was looking furious, and as Ginny passed them to enter her classroom, he yelled spitefully after her, "I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!"

Ginny covered her face with her hands and ran into class. Snarling, Ron pulled out his wand, too, but Noah and Dorcas pulled him away. Ron didn't need to spend the whole of Charms belching slugs.

It wasn't until they had reached Professor Flitwick's class that Andromeda noticed something rather odd about Riddle's diary. All her other books were drenched in scarlet ink. The diary, however, was as clean as it had been before the ink bottle had smashed all over it. She pointed this out to Harry.

That night, Harry and Andromeda snuck off up to Harry's dorm. They sat on his four-poster and flicked through the blank pages, not one of which had a trace of scarlet ink on it. Then she pulled a new bottle out of Harry's bedside cabinet, dipped her quill into it, and dropped a blot onto the first page of the diary.

The ink shone brightly on the paper for a second and then, as though it was being sucked into the page, vanished. Andromeda and Harry looked at each other and then back at the diary. Excited, Andromeda loaded up his quill a second time and wrote, "Our names are Andromeda Black and Harry Potter."

The words shone momentarily on the page and they, too, sank without trace. Then, at last, something happened.

Oozing back out of the page, in his very own ink, came words Harry had never written.

"Hello, Harry Potter and Andromeda Black. My name is Tom Riddle. How did you come by my diary?"

These words, too, faded away, but not before Harry took the diary and quill from Andromeda and had started to scribble back.

"Someone tried to flush it down a toilet."

They waited eagerly for Riddle's reply.

"Lucky that I recorded my memories in some more lasting way than ink. But I always knew that there would be those who would not want this diary read."

"What do you mean?" Harry scrawled, blotting the page in his excitement.

"I mean that this diary holds memories of terrible things. Things that were covered up. Things that happened at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "

"Ask him about the Chamber of Secrets," Andromeda said eagerly.

"That's where we are now," Harry wrote quickly. "We're at Hogwarts, and horrible stuff's been happening. Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?"

Her heart was hammering. Riddle's reply came quickly, his writing becoming untidier, as though he was hurrying to tell all he knew.

"Of course I know about the Chamber of Secrets. In my day, they told us it was a legend, that it did not exist. But this was a lie. In my fifth year, the Chamber was opened and the monster attacked several students, finally killing one. I caught the person who'd opened the Chamber and he was expelled. But the Headmaster, Professor Dippet, ashamed that such a thing had happened at Hogwarts, forbade me to tell the truth. A story was given out that the girl had died in a freak accident. They gave me a nice, shiny, engraved trophy for my trouble and warned me to keep my mouth shut. But I knew it could happen again. The monster lived on, and the one who had the power to release it was not imprisoned. "

Harry nearly upset his ink bottle in his hurry to write back.

"It's happening again now. There have been three attacks and no one seems to know who's behind them. Who was it last time?"

"I can show you, if you like," came Riddle's reply. "You don't have to take my word for it. I can take you inside my memory of the night when I caught him. "

Harry hesitated, his quill suspended over the diary and glanced at Andromeda. What did Riddle mean? How could they be taken inside somebody else's memory? Andromeda glanced nervously at the door to the dormitory, which was growing dark. When she looked back at the diary, he saw fresh words forming.

"Let me show you."

Harry paused for a fraction of a second and then, after Andromeda nodded at him, wrote two letters.

"OK."

The pages of the diary began to blow as though caught in a high wind, stopping halfway through the month of June. Mouth hanging open, Andromeda saw that the little square for June thirteenth seemed to have turned into a miniscule television screen. Hands trembling slightly, they raised the book to press their eyes against the little window, and before they knew what was happening, they were tilting forward; the window was widening. Andromeda felt her body leave Harry's bed, and she was pitched headfirst through the opening in the page, into a whirl of colour and shadow.

She felt her feet hit solid ground, and stood, shaking, as the blurred shapes around her came suddenly into focus. Beside her, Harry grabbed her hand.

She knew immediately where they were. This circular room with the sleeping portraits was Dumbledore's office - but it wasn't Dumbledore who was sitting behind the desk. A wizened, frail-looking wizard, bald except for a few wisps of white hair, was reading a letter by candlelight. Andromeda had never seen this man before.

"I'm sorry," Harry said shakily. "We didn't mean to butt in -"

But the wizard didn't look up. He continued to read, frowning slightly. Harry and Andromeda drew nearer to his desk and he stammered, "Er - we'll just go, shall we?"

Still the wizard ignored him. He didn't seem even to have heard him. Thinking that the wizard might be deaf, Andromeda raised her voice.

"Sorry we disturbed you. We'll go now," she half-shouted.

The wizard folded up the letter with a sigh, stood up, walked past Harry and Andromeda without glancing at him, and went to draw the curtains at his window.

The sky outside the window was ruby-red; it seemed to be sunset. The wizard went back to the desk, sat down, and twiddled his thumbs, watching the door.

Andromeda looked around the office. No Fawkes the phoenix - no whirring silver contraptions. This was Hogwarts as Riddle had known it, meaning that this unknown wizard was Headmaster, not Dumbledore, and she and Harry, was little more than phantoms, completely invisible to the people of fifty years ago.

There was a knock on the office door.

"Enter," said the old wizard in a feeble voice.

A boy of about sixteen entered, taking off his pointed hat. A silver prefect's badge was glinting on his chest. He was much taller than Harry and Andromeda, but he, too, had jet-black hair.

"Ah, Riddle," said the Headmaster.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Dippet?" said Riddle. He looked nervous.

"Sit down," said Dippet. "I've just been reading the letter you sent me.

"Oh," said Riddle. He sat down, gripping his hands together very tightly.

"My dear boy," said Dipper kindly, "I cannot possibly let you stay at school over the summer. Surely you want to go home for the holidays?"

"No," said Riddle at once. "I'd much rather stay at Hogwarts than go back to that - to that -"

"You live in a Muggle orphanage during the holidays, I believe?" said Dippet curiously.

"Yes, sir," said Riddle, reddening slightly.

"You are Muggle-born?"

"Half-blood, sir," said Riddle. "Muggle father, witch mother."

"And are both your parents -?"

"My mother died just after I was born, sir. They told me at the orphanage she lived just long enough to name me - Tom after my father, Marvolo after my grandfather."

Dipper clucked his tongue sympathetically.

"The thing is, Tom," he sighed, "Special arrangements might have been made for you, but in the current circumstances..."

"You mean all these attacks, sir?" said Riddle, and Harry's heart leapt, and he moved closer, scared of missing anything.

"Precisely," said the headmaster. "My dear boy, you must see how foolish it would be of me to allow you to remain at the castle when term ends. Particularly in light of the recent tragedy... the death of that poor little girl... You will be safer by far at your orphanage. As a matter of fact, the Ministry of Magic is even now talking about closing the school. We are no nearer locating the er - source of all this unpleasantness..."

Riddle's eyes had widened.

"Sir - if the person was caught - if it all stopped -"

"What do you mean?" said Dippet with a squeak in his voice, sitting up in his chair. "Riddle, do you mean you know something about these attacks?"

"No, sir," said Riddle quickly.

But Andromeda was sure it was the same sort of "no" that she and Harry had given Dumbledore.

Dippet sank back, looking faintly disappointed.

"You may go, Tom..."

Riddle slid off his chair and slouched out of the room. Harry and Andromeda followed him.

Down the moving spiral staircase they went, emerging next to the gargoyle in the darkening corridor. Riddle stopped, and so did Harry and Andromeda, watching him. Andromeda could tell that Riddle was doing some serious thinking. He was biting his lip, his forehead furrowed.

Then, as though he had suddenly reached a decision, he hurried off, Harry and Andromeda gliding noiselessly behind him. They didn't see another person until they reached the entrance hall, when a tall wizard with long, sweeping auburn hair and a beard called to Riddle from the marble staircase.

"What are you doing, wandering around this late, Tom?"

Andromeda gaped at the wizard. He was none other than a fifty-year-younger Dumbledore.

"I had to see the headmaster, sir," said Riddle.

"Well, hurry off to bed," said Dumbledore, giving Riddle exactly the kind of penetrating stare Andromeda knew so well. "Best not to roam the corridors these days. Not since..."

He sighed heavily, bade Riddle good night, and strode off. Riddle watched him walk out of sight and then, moving quickly, headed straight down the stone steps to the dungeons, with Harry and Andromeda in hot pursuit.

But to their disappointment, Riddle led him not into a hidden passageway or a secret tunnel but to the very dungeon in which Harry and Andromeda had Potions with Snape. The torches hadn't been lit, and when Riddle pushed the door almost closed, Andromeda could only just see him, standing stock-still by the door, watching the passage outside.

It felt to Andromeda that they were there for at least an hour. All she could see was the figure of Riddle at the door, staring through the crack, waiting like a statue. And just when Andromeda had stopped feeling expectant and tense and started wishing she could return to the present, she heard something move beyond the door.

Someone was creeping along the passage. She heard whoever it was pass the dungeon where she, Harry and Riddle were hidden. Riddle, quiet as a shadow, edged through the door and followed, Harry and Andromeda tiptoeing behind him, forgetting that they couldn't be heard.

For perhaps five minutes they followed the footsteps, until Riddle stopped suddenly, his head inclined in the direction of new noises. Andromeda heard a door creak open, and then someone speaking in a hoarse whisper.

"C'mon... gotta get yeh outta here... C'mon now... in the box..."

There was something familiar about that voice...

Riddle suddenly jumped around the corner. Harry and Andromeda stepped out behind him. She could see the dark outline of a huge boy who was crouching in front of an open door, a very large box next to it.

"Evening, Rubeus," said Riddle sharply.

The boy slammed the door shut and stood up.

"What yer doin' down here, Tom?"

Riddle stepped closer.

"It's all over," he said. "I'm going to have to turn you in, Rubeus. They're talking about closing Hogwarts if the attacks don't stop."

"What d'yeh -"

"I don't think you meant to kill anyone. But monsters don't make good pets. I suppose you just let it out for exercise and -"

"It never killed no one!" said the large boy, backing against the closed door. From behind him, Andromeda could hear a funny rustling and clicking.

"Come on, Rubeus," said Riddle, moving yet closer. "The dead girl's parents will be here tomorrow. The least Hogwarts can do is make sure that the thing that killed their daughter is slaughtered..."

"It wasn't him!" roared the boy, his voice echoing in the dark passage. "He wouldn'! He never!"

"Stand aside," said Riddle, drawing out his wand.

His spell lit the corridor with a sudden flaming light. The door behind the large boy flew open with such force it knocked him into the wall opposite. And out of it came something that made Andromeda and Harry let out long, piercing screams unheard by anyone

A vast, low-slung, hairy body and a tangle of black legs; a gleam of many eyes and a pair of razor-sharp pincers - Riddle raised his wand again, but he was too late. The thing bowled him over as it scuttled away, tearing up the corridor and out of sight. Riddle scrambled to his feet, looking after it; he raised his wand, but the huge boy leapt on him, seized his wand, and threw him back down, yelling, "NOOOOOOO!"

The scene whirled, the darkness became complete; Andromeda felt herself falling and, with a crash, she landed spread-eagled on Harry's four-poster in the Gryffindor dormitory, Riddle's diary lying open on his stomach and Harry next to her.

Before they had had time to regain their breath, the dormitory door opened and Ron and Noah came in.

"There you two are," Noah said.

Harry and Andromeda sat up. They were sweating and shaking.

"What's up?" said Ron, looking at them with concern.

"It was Hagrid, Ron. Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago."


	14. Chapter 14 - Cornelius Fudge

**Chapter 14 - Cornelius Fudge**

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, and Hermione had always known that Hagrid had an unfortunate liking for large and monstrous creatures. During their first year at Hogwarts he had tried to raise a dragon in his little wooden house, and it would be a long time before they forgot the giant, three-headed dog he'd christened "Fluffy." And if, as a boy, Hagrid had heard that a monster was hidden somewhere in the castle, Andromeda was sure he'd have gone to any lengths for a glimpse of it. He'd probably thought it was a shame that the monster had been cooped up so long, and thought it deserved the chance to stretch its many legs; Andromeda could just imagine the thirteen-year-old Hagrid trying to fit a leash and collar on it. But she was equally certain that Hagrid would never have meant to kill anybody.

Andromeda half wished she hadn't found out how to work Riddle's diary. Again and again Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione made her and Harry recount what they'd seen, until they were heartily sick of telling them and sick of the long, circular conversations that followed.

"Riddle might have got the wrong person," said Hermione. "Maybe it was some other monster that was attacking people . . . ."

"How many monsters d'you think this place can hold?" Ron asked dully.

"We always knew Hagrid had been expelled," said Dorcas miserably. "And the attacks must've stopped after Hagrid was kicked out. Otherwise, Riddle wouldn't have got his award."

Ron tried a different tack.

"Riddle does sound like Percy - who asked him to squeal on Hagrid, anyway?"

"But the monster had killed someone, Ron," said Hermione.

"And Riddle was going to go back to some Muggle orphanage if they closed Hogwarts," said Harry. "I don't blame him for wanting to stay here ...

"You met Hagrid down Knockturn Alley, didn't you, Harry? 'Dromeda?" Noah asked.

"He was buying a Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent," said Andromeda quickly.

The three of them fell silent. After a long pause, Hermione voiced the knottiest question of all in a hesitant voice.

"Do you think we should go and ask Hagrid about it all?" Dorcas said.

"That'd be a cheerful visit," said Ron. "'Hello, Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?"'

In the end, they decided that they would not say anything to Hagrid unless there was another attack, and as more and more days went by with no whisper from the disembodied voice, they became hopeful that they would never need to talk to him about why he had been expelled. It was now nearly four months since Justin and Nearly Headless Nick had been petrified, and nearly everybody seemed to think that the attacker, whoever it was, had retired for good. Peeves had finally got bored of his song, Ernie Macmillan asked Harry quite politely to pass a bucket of leaping toadstools in Herbology one day, and in March several of the Mandrakes threw a loud and raucous party in greenhouse three. This made Professor Sprout very happy.

"The moment they start trying to move into each other's pots, we'll know they're fully mature," she told Andromeda. "Then we'll be able to revive those poor people in the hospital wing."

The second years were given something new to think about during their Easter holidays. The time had come to choose their subjects for the third year, a matter that Hermione and Dorcas, at least, took very seriously.

"It could affect our whole future," Hermione told them as they pored over lists of new subjects, marking them with checks.

"I just want to give up Potions," said Harry.

"We can't," said Ron gloomily. "We keep all our old subjects, or I'd've ditched Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"But that's very important!" said Hermione, shocked.

"Not the way Lockhart teaches it," said Noah. "I haven't learned anything from him except not to set pixies loose."

Neville Longbottom had been sent letters from all the witches and wizards in his family, all giving him different advice on what to choose. Confused and worried, he sat reading the subject lists with his tongue poking out, asking people whether they thought Arithmancy sounded more difficult than the study of Ancient Runes. Dean Thomas, who, like Harry and Andromeda, had grown up with Muggles, ended up closing his eyes and jabbing his wand at the list, then picking the subjects it landed on. Hermione took nobody's advice but signed up for everything.

Andromeda smiled grimly to herself at the thought of what Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would say if she tried to discuss her career in wizardry with them. Not that she didn't get any guidance: Percy Weasley was eager to share his experience.

"Depends where you want to go," he said. "It's never too early to think about the future, so I'd recommend Divination. People say Muggle Studies is a soft option, but I personally think wizards should have a thorough understanding of the non-magical community, particularly if they're thinking of working in close contact with them - look at my father, he has to deal with Muggle business all the time. My brother Charlie was always more of an outdoor type, so he went for Care of Magical Creatures. Play to your strengths."

But she couldn't choose so she just picked the same subjects as Harry, Dorcas and Noah: Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.

Gryffindor's next Quidditch match would be against Hufflepuff. Wood was insisting on team practices every night after dinner, so that Andromeda barely had time for anything but Quidditch and homework. However, the training sessions were getting better, or at least drier, and the evening before Saturday's match she went up to her dormitory to drop off her broomstick feeling Gryffindor's chances for the Quidditch cup had never been better.

But her cheerful mood didn't last long. At the top of the stairs to the dormitory, she met Dorcas, who was looking frantic.

"Andromeda - I don't know who did it - I just found -"

Watching Andromeda fearfully, Dorcas pushed open the door.

The contents of Andromeda's trunk had been thrown everywhere. Her cloak lay ripped on the floor. The bedclothes had been pulled off her four-poster and the drawer had been pulled out of her bedside cabinet, the contents strewn over the mattress.

Andromeda walked over to the bed, open-mouthed, treading on a few loose pages of Travels with Trolls. As she and Dorcas pulled the blankets back onto her bed, Hermione walked in.

"What happened?"

"No idea," said Andromeda. But Hermione was examining Andromeda's robes. All the pockets were hanging out.

"Someone's been looking for something," said Dorcas. "Is there anything missing?"

Andromeda started to pick up all her things and throw them into her trunk. She subtly put the spare Wolfsbane potion she had inside her trunk, hoping that no one saw it. It was only as she threw the last of the Lockhart books back into it that she realized what wasn't there.

"Riddle's diary's gone," she said.

"What?"

But Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil walked in at that moment, giggling. Andromeda jerked her head toward the dormitory door and Dorcas and Hermione followed her out. They hurried down to the Gryffindor common room, which was half-empty, and joined Harry, Dorcas and Noah, who were chatting by the fireplace.

Noah looked aghast at the news.

"But - only a Gryffindor could have stolen - nobody else knows our password -"

"Exactly," said Andromeda.

They woke the next day to brilliant sunshine and a light, refreshing breeze.

"Perfect Quidditch conditions!" said Wood enthusiastically at the Gryffindor table, loading the team's plates with scrambled eggs. "'Dromeda, buck up there, you need a decent breakfast."

Andromeda had been staring down the packed Gryffindor table, wondering if the new owner of Riddle's diary was right in front of her eyes. Harry nudged her and nodded his head at the doors to the Great Hall.

The Tonks' were there. Andromeda felt her stomach drop. She hadn't talked to any of them since her last match, hadn't even given Aunt 'Dromeda a definite answer to her request that Andromeda live with them.

She rose from her chair and walked over to them.

"Andromeda, dear," Aunt 'Dromeda said. "You're looking a bit peaky. Have you eaten yet?"

"Yes," Andromeda lied. But she hadn't eaten, she was sick and she was feeling betrayed by her own house.

"Okay then, well we're going to head over to the stands now so we'll see you after the game," Tonks said brightly.

As she left the Great Hall with her friends to go and collect her Quidditch things, another very serious worry was added to Andromeda's growing list. They had just set foot on the marble staircase when she heard it yet again

"Kill this time ... let me rip ... tear. . ."

Her and Harry exchanged looks. They shouted aloud and Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione all jumped away from them in alarm.

"The voice!" said Harry, looking over his shoulder. "We just heard it again - didn't you?"

Ron shook his head, wide-eyed. Hermione, however, clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Harry, 'Dromeda - I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library!"

And she sprinted away, up the stairs.

"What does she understand?" said Andromeda distractedly, still looking around, trying to tell where the voice had come from.

"Loads more than I do," said Noah, shaking his head.

"But why's she got to go to the library?" Dorcas asked.

"Because that's what Hermione does," said Ron, shrugging. "When in doubt, go to the library."

Andromeda stood, irresolute, trying to catch the voice again, but people were now emerging from the Great Hall behind her, talking loudly, exiting through the front doors on their way to the Quidditch pitch.

"You'd better get moving," said Ron. "It's nearly eleven - the match -"

Harry and Andromeda raced up to Gryffindor Tower, collected their Nimbus Two Thousands, and joined the large crowd swarming across the grounds, but Andromeda's mind was still in the castle along with the bodiless voice, and as she pulled on her scarlet robes in the locker room, her only comfort was that everyone was now outside to watch the game.

The teams walked onto the field to tumultuous applause. Oliver Wood took off for a warm-up flight around the goal posts; Madam Hooch released the balls. The Hufflepuffs, who played in canary yellow, were standing in a huddle, having a last-minute discussion of tactics.

Harry and Andromeda were just mounting their brooms when Professor McGonagall came half marching, half running across the pitch, carrying an enormous purple megaphone.

Andromeda's heart dropped like a stone.

"This match has been cancelled," Professor McGonagall called through the megaphone, addressing the packed stadium. There were boos and shouts. Oliver Wood, looking devastated, landed and ran toward Professor McGonagall without getting off his broomstick.

"But, Professor!" he shouted. "We've got to play - the cup - Gryffindor -"

Professor McGonagall ignored him and continued to shout through her megaphone:

"All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. Any guests, please make your way to one of the common rooms. As quickly as you can, please!"

Then she lowered the megaphone and beckoned Harry and Andromeda over to her.

"Andromeda, Potter, I think you'd better come with me..."

Wondering how she could possibly suspect them this time, Andromeda saw Ron, Dorcas and Noah detach themselves from the complaining crowd; they came running up to them as they set off toward the castle. To Andromeda's surprise, Professor McGonagall didn't object.

"Yes, perhaps you three had better come, too..."

Some of the students swarming around them were grumbling about the match being cancelled; others looked worried. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron followed Professor McGonagall back into the school and up the marble staircase. But they weren't taken to anybody's office this time.

"This will be a bit of a shock," said Professor McGonagall in a surprisingly gentle voice as they approached the infirmary. "There has been another attack... another double attack."

Andromeda's insides did a horrible somersault. Professor McGonagall pushed the door open and they entered. .

Madam Pomfrey was bending over a fifth-year girl with long, curly hair. Andromeda recognized her as the Ravenclaw they'd accidentally asked for directions to the Slytherin common room. And on the bed next to her was -

"Hermione!" Ron groaned.

Hermione lay utterly still, her eyes open and glassy.

"They were found near the library," said Professor McGonagall. "I don't suppose either of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them..."

She was holding up a small, circular mirror.

They all shook their heads, staring at Hermione.

"I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower," said Professor McGonagall heavily. "I need to address the students in any case.

"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities."

The Gryffindors packed inside the common room listened to Professor McGonagall in silence. She rolled up the parchment from which she had been reading and said in a somewhat choked voice, "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward. Any guests, please come with me."

She climbed somewhat awkwardly out of the portrait hole followed by the Tonk family who smiled sadly at Andromeda and patted her back as they passed her, and the Gryffindors began talking immediately.

"That's two Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff, " said the Weasley twins' friend Lee Jordan, counting on his fingers. "Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin - why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" he roared, to nods and scattered applause.

Percy Weasley was sitting in a chair behind Lee, but for once he didn't seem keen to make his views heard. He was looking pale and stunned.

"Percy's in shock," George told Harry quietly. "That Ravenclaw girl - Penelope Clearwater - she's a prefect. I don't think he thought the monster would dare attack a prefect."

But Andromeda was only half-listening. She didn't seem to be able to get rid of the picture of Hermione, lying on the hospital bed as though carved out of stone. And if the culprit wasn't caught soon, she was looking at a lifetime back with the Dursleys. Tom Riddle had turned Hagrid in because he was faced with the prospect of a Muggle orphanage if the school closed. Andromeda now knew exactly how he had felt.

"What're we going to do?" said Dorcas quietly in Andromeda's ear. "D'you think they suspect Hagrid?"

"We've got to go and talk to Hagrid," said Andromeda to Harry, Dorcas, Noah and Ron, making up her mind.

"I can't believe it's him this time," Harry said, nodding in agreement, "but if he set the monster loose last time he'll know how to get inside the Chamber of Secrets, and that's a start."

"But McGonagall said we've got to stay in our tower unless we're in class -" Ron started.

"I think," said Harry, more quietly still, "it's time to get my dad's old cloak out again."

Harry had inherited last year one thing from his father: a long and silvery Invisibility Cloak. It was their only chance of sneaking out of the school to visit Hagrid without anyone knowing about it. They went to bed at the usual time, waited until their dorm mates had stopped discussing the Chamber of Secrets and finally fallen asleep, then got up, dressed again, and met in the common room where Harry threw the cloak over them.

The journey through the dark and deserted castle corridors wasn't enjoyable. Andromeda, who had wandered the castle at night several times before, had never seen it so crowded after sunset. Teachers, prefects, and ghosts were marching the corridors in pairs, staring around for any unusual activity. Their Invisibility Cloak didn't stop them making any noise, and there was a particularly tense moment when Ron stubbed his toe only yards from the spot where Snape stood standing guard. Thankfully, Snape sneezed at almost exactly the moment Ron swore. It was with relief that they reached the oak front doors and eased them open. It was a clear, starry night. The five of them hurried toward the lit windows of Hagrid's house and pulled off the cloak only when they were right outside his front door.

Seconds after they had knocked, Hagrid flung it open. They found themselves face-to-face with him aiming a crossbow at them. Fang the boarhound barked loudly behind him.

"Oh," he said, lowering the weapon and staring at them. "What're you five doin' here?"

"What's that for?" said Harry, pointing at the crossbow as they stepped inside.

"Nothin' - nothin' - " Hagrid muttered. "I've bin expectin' - doesn' matter - Sit down - I'll make tea -"

He hardly seemed to know what he was doing. He nearly extinguished the fire, spilling water from the kettle on it, and then smashed the teapot with a nervous jerk of his massive hand.

"Are you okay, Hagrid?" said Harry. "Did you hear about Hermione?"

"Oh, I heard, all righ'," said Hagrid, a slight break in his voice.

He kept glancing nervously at the windows. He poured them all large mugs of boiling water (he had forgotten to add tea bags) and was just putting a slab of fruitcake on a plate when there was a loud knock on the door.

Hagrid dropped the fruitcake. Harry, Andromeda, Noah and Ron exchanged panic-stricken looks, then threw the Invisibility Cloak back over themselves and retreated into a corner. Hagrid checked that they were hidden, seized his crossbow, and flung open his door once more.

"Good evening, Hagrid."

It was Dumbledore. He entered, looking deadly serious, and was followed by a second, very odd-looking man.

The stranger had rumpled gray hair and an anxious expression, and was wearing a strange mixture of clothes: a pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, and pointed purple boots. Under his arm he carried a lime-green bowler.

"That's Dad's boss!" Ron breathed. "Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic!"

Harry elbowed Ron hard to make him shut up.

Hagrid had gone pale and sweaty. He dropped into one of his chairs and looked from Dumbledore to Cornelius Fudge.

"Bad business, Hagrid," said Fudge in rather clipped tones. "Very bad business. Had to come. Four attacks on Muggle-borns. Things've gone far enough. Ministry's got to act."

"I never," said Hagrid, looking imploringly at Dumbledore. "You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir -"

"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence," said Dumbledore, frowning at Fudge.

"Look, Albus," said Fudge, uncomfortably. "Hagrid's record's against him. Ministry's got to do something - the school governors have been in touch -"

"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest," said Dumbledore. His blue eyes were full of a fire Andromeda had never seen before.

"Look at it from my point of view," said Fudge, fidgeting with his bowler. "I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen to be doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back and no more said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty -"

"Take me?" said Hagrid, who was trembling. "Take me where?"

"For a short stretch only," said Fudge, not meeting Hagrid's eyes. "Not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology -"

"Not Azkaban?" croaked Hagrid and Andromeda gasped. Harry clapped a hand over her mouth.

Before Fudge could answer, there was another loud rap on the door.

Dumbledore answered it. It was Harry's turn to be silenced; he'd let out an audible gasp and Dorcas elbowed him.

Mr. Lucius Malfoy strode into Hagrid's hut, swathed in a long black travelling cloak, smiling a cold and satisfied smile. Fang started to growl.

"Already here, Fudge," he said approvingly. "Good, good..."

"What're you doin' here?" said Hagrid furiously. "Get outta my house!"

"My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure at all in being inside your - er - d'you call this a house?" said Lucius Malfoy, sneering as he looked around the small cabin. "I simply called at the school and was told that the headmaster was here."

"And what exactly did you want with me, Lucius?" said Dumbledore. He spoke politely, but the fire was still blazing in his blue eyes.

"Dreadful thing, Dumbledore," said Malfoy lazily, taking out a long roll of parchment, "but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension - you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school."

"Oh, now, see here, Lucius," said Fudge, looking alarmed, "Dumbledore suspended - no, no - last thing we want just now -"

"The appointment - or suspension - of the headmaster is a matter for the governors, Fudge," said Mr. Malfoy smoothly. "And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks -"

"See here, Malfoy, if Dumbledore can't stop them," said Fudge, whose upper lip was sweating now, "I mean to say, who can?"

"That remains to be seen," said Mr. Malfoy with a nasty smile. "But as all twelve of us have voted -"

Hagrid leapt to his feet, his shaggy black head grazing the ceiling.

'An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?" he roared.

"Dear, dear, you know, that temper of yours will lead you into trouble one of these days, Hagrid," said Mr. Malfoy. "I would advise you not to shout at the Azkaban guards like that. They won't like it at all."

"Yeh can' take Dumbledore!" yelled Hagrid, making Fang the boarhound cower and whimper in his basket. "Take him away, an' the Muggle-borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!"

"Calm yourself, Hagrid," said Dumbledore sharply. He looked at Lucius Malfoy.

"If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course step aside -"

"But -" stuttered Fudge.

"No!"growled Hagrid.

Dumbledore had not taken his bright blue eyes off Lucius Malfoy's cold gray ones.

"However," said Dumbledore, speaking very slowly and clearly so that none of them could miss a word, "you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me... Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."  
For a second, Andromeda was almost sure Dumbledore's eyes flickered toward the corner where she, Harry, Dorcas, Noah and Ron were hidden.

"Admirable sentiments," said Malfoy, bowing. "We shall all miss your - er - highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope your successor will manage to prevent any - ah – 'killins'."  
He strode to the cabin door, opened it, and bowed Dumbledore out. Fudge, fiddling with his bowler, waited for Hagrid to go ahead of him, but Hagrid stood his ground, took a deep breath, and said carefully, "If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they'd have ter do would be ter follow the spiders. That'd lead em right. That's all I'm sayin'."  
Fudge stared at him in amazement.  
"All right, I'm comin', said Hagrid, pulling on his moleskin overcoat. But as he was about to follow Fudge through the door, he stopped again and said loudly, "An' someone'll need ter feed Fang while I'm away."  
The door banged shut and Noah pulled off the Invisibility Cloak.  
"We're in trouble now," Ron said hoarsely. "No Dumbledore. They might as well close the school tonight. There'll be an attack a day with him gone."  
Fang started howling, scratching at the closed door.


	15. Chapter 15 - Aragog

**Chapter 15 - Aragog**

Summer was creeping over the grounds around the castle; sky and lake alike turned periwinkle blue and flowers large as cabbages burst into bloom in the greenhouses. But with no Hagrid visible from the castle windows, striding the grounds with Fang at his heels, the scene didn't look right to Andromeda; no better, in fact, than the inside of the castle, where things were so horribly wrong.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron had tried to visit Hermione, but visitors were now barred from the hospital wing. The only times Andromeda was permitted to enter the infirmary was during the week of the full moon.

"We're taking no more chances," Madam Pomfrey told them severely through a crack in the infirmary door. "No, I'm sorry, there's every chance the attacker might come back to finish these people off . . ."

With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread as never before, so that the sun warming the castle walls outside seemed to stop at the mullioned windows. There was barely a face to be seen in the school that didn't look worried and tense, and any laughter that rang through the corridors sounded shrill and unnatural and was quickly stifled.

Andromeda constantly repeated Dumbledore's final words to herself "I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me... Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." But what good were these words? Who exactly were they supposed to ask for help, when everyone was just as confused and scared as they were?

Hagrid's hint about the spiders was far easier to understand the trouble was, there didn't seem to be a single spider left in the castle to follow. Andromeda and her friends looked everywhere they went, although Ron was rather reluctant. They were hampered, of course, by the fact that they weren't allowed to wander off on their own but had to move around the castle in a pack with the other Gryffindors. Most of their fellow students seemed glad that they were being shepherded from class to class by teachers, but Andromeda found it very irksome.

One person, however, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere of terror and suspicion. Draco Malfoy was strutting around the school as though he had just been appointed Head Boy. Andromeda didn't realize what he was so pleased about until the Potions lesson about two weeks after Dumbledore and Hagrid had left, when, sitting right behind Malfoy, Andromeda overheard him gloating to Crabbe and Goyle.

"I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore," he said, not troubling to keep his voice down. "I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst headmaster the school's ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent headmaster now. Someone who won't want the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in..."

Andromeda fought the urge to throw something heavy at him.

"Sir," said Malfoy loudly. "Sir, why don't you apply for the headmaster's job?"

"Now, now, Malfoy," said Snape, though he couldn't suppress a thin- lipped smile. "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough."

"Yeah, right," said Malfoy, smirking. "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job - I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir -"

Snape smirked as he swept off around the dungeon, fortunately not spotting Seamus Finnigan, who was pretending to vomit into his cauldron.

"I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now," Malfoy went on. "Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger -"

The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy's last words, Ron had leapt off his stool, and in the scramble to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.

"Let me at him," Ron growled as Harry and Noah hung onto his arms. "I don't care, I don't need my wand, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands -"

"Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology," barked Snape over the class's heads, and off they marched, with Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Ron, and Noah bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get loose. It was only safe to let go of him when Snape had seen them out of the castle and they were making their way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses.

The Herbology class was very subdued; there were now two missing from their number, Justin and Hermione.

Professor Sprout set them all to work pruning the Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Harry and Andromeda went to armfuls of withered stalks onto the compost heap and found themselves face-to-face with Ernie Macmillan. Ernie took a deep breath and said, very formally, "I just want to say, Harry, Andromeda, that I'm sorry I ever suspected you two. I know you'd never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologize for all the stuff I said. We're all in the same boat now, and, well -"

He held out a pudgy hand, and Harry and Andromeda shook it.

Ernie and his friend Hannah came to work at the same Shrivelfig as Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron.

"That Draco Malfoy character," said Ernie, breaking off dead twigs, "he seems very pleased about all this, doesn't he? D'you know, I think he might be Slytherin's heir."

"That's clever of you," said Ron, who didn't seem to have forgiven Ernie as readily as Harry.

"Do you think it's Malfoy?" Ernie asked.

"No," said Andromeda, so firmly that Ernie and Hannah stared.

A second later, Harry spotted something and nudged Andromeda.

Several large spiders were scuttling over the ground on the other side of the glass, moving in an unnaturally straight line as though taking the shortest route to a prearranged meeting. Harry hit Ron over the hand with his pruning shears, gaining his, Noah and Dorcas' attention.

"Ouch! What're you -"

Andromeda pointed out the spiders, following their progress with his eyes screwed up against the sun.

"Oh, yeah," said Ron, trying, and failing, to look pleased. "But we can't follow them now -"

Ernie and Hannah were listening curiously.

Andromeda's eyes narrowed as she focused on the spiders. If they pursued their fixed course, there could be no doubt about where they would end up.

"Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest..." Dorcas said.

And Ron looked even unhappier about that.

At the end of the lesson Professor Sprout escorted the class to their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron lagged behind the others so they could talk out of earshot.

"We'll have to use the Invisibility Cloak again," Harry told them. "We can take Fang with us. He's used to going into the forest with Hagrid, he might be some help."

"Right," said Ron, who was twirling his wand nervously in his fingers. "Er - aren't there - aren't there supposed to be werewolves in the forest?" he added.

Andromeda scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"How many times do we have to tell everyone that there aren't any werewolves in the forest?" Dorcas hissed.

Ron had never been into the Forbidden Forest before. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas and Noah had entered it only once when they had a detention.

Harry, Ron, Noah and Dorcas filed into their classroom and Professor Sprout escorted Andromeda to Gryffindor tower for her free period.

"Professor?" Andromeda asked after a couple of minutes.

"Yes, Miss Black?"

"How are the Mandrakes coming along? When will they be ready?"

"Oh, I should say any day now," Professor Sprout said smiling as they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

The Gryffindor common room was always very crowded these days, because from six o'clock onward the Gryffindors had nowhere else to go. They also had plenty to talk about, with the result that the common room often didn't empty until past midnight.

Harry, Andromeda, Noah, Dorcas and Ron had decided that that night they would venture into the Forbidden Forest to find the spiders.

Harry went to get the Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk right after dinner, and spent the evening sitting on it, waiting for the common room to clear. Fred and George challenged them to a few games of Exploding Snap, and Ginny sat watching them, very subdued in Hermione's usual chair. They all kept losing on purpose, trying to finish the games quickly, but even so, it was well past midnight when Fred, George, and Ginny finally went to bed.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron waited for the distant sounds of two dormitory doors closing before seizing the cloak, throwing it over themselves, and climbing through the portrait hole.

It was another difficult journey through the castle, dodging all the teachers. At last they reached the entrance hall, slid back the lock on the oak front doors, squeezed between them, trying to stop any creaking, and stepped out into the moonlit grounds.

"'Course," said Ron abruptly as they strode across the black grass, "we might get to the forest and find there's nothing to follow. Those spiders might not've been going there at all. I know it looked like they were moving in that sort of general direction, but..."

His voice trailed away hopefully.

They reached Hagrid's house, sad and sorry-looking with its blank windows. When Dorcas pushed the door open, Fang went mad with joy at the sight of them. Worried he might wake everyone at the castle with his deep, booming barks, they hastily fed him treacle fudge from a tin on the mantelpiece, which glued his teeth together.

Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on Hagrid's table. There would be no need for it in the pitch-dark forest.

"Come on, Fang, we're going for a walk," said Andromeda, patting his leg, and Fang bounded happily out of the house behind them, dashed to the edge of the forest, and lifted his leg against a large sycamore tree.

Harry took out his wand, murmured, "Lumos!" and a tiny light appeared at the end of it, just enough to let them watch the path for signs of spiders.

"Good thinking," said Ron. "I'd light mine, too, but you know - it'd probably blow up or something..."

The rest of the group hastily lit their wands, too.

Harry tapped Andromeda on the shoulder, pointing at the grass. Two solitary spiders were hurrying away from the wand-light into the shade of the trees.

So, with Fang scampering around them, sniffing tree roots and leaves, they entered the forest. By the glow of Harry's, Andromeda's, Dorcas' and Noah's wands, they followed the steady trickle of spiders moving along the path. They walked behind them for about twenty minutes, not speaking, listening hard for noises other than breaking twigs and rustling leaves. Then, when the trees had become thicker than ever, so that the stars overhead were no longer visible, and their wands shone alone in the sea of dark, they saw their spider guides leaving the path.

Andromeda paused, trying to see where the spiders were going, but everything outside their little sphere of light was pitch-black. She had never been this deep into the forest before. She could vividly remember Hagrid advising them not to leave the forest path last time they'd been in here. But Hagrid was miles away now, probably sitting in a cell in Azkaban, and he had also said to follow the spiders.

Harry's suddenly jumped backward, crushing Noah's foot.

"What d'you reckon?" Andromeda to the group.

"We've come this far," said Ron.

So they followed the darting shadows of the spiders into the trees. They couldn't move very quickly now; there were tree roots and stumps in their way, barely visible in the near blackness. Andromeda could feel Fang's hot breath on her hand. More than once, they had to stop, so that they could crouch down and find the spiders in the wand-light.

They walked for what seemed like at least half an hour, their robes snagging on low-slung branches and brambles. After a while, they noticed that the ground seemed to be sloping downward, though the trees were as thick as ever.

Then Fang suddenly let loose a great, echoing bark, making everyone jump out of their skins.

"What?" said Dorcas loudly, looking around into the pitch-dark, and gripping Andromeda's elbow very hard.

"There's something moving over there," Harry breathed. "Listen ... sounds like something big..."

They listened. Some distance to their right, the something big was snapping branches as it carved a path through the trees.

"Oh, no," said Ron. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh -"

"Shut up," said Andromeda frantically. "It'll hear you."

"Hear me?" said Ron in an unnaturally high voice. "It's already heard Fang!"

The darkness seemed to be pressing on their eyeballs as they stood, terrified, waiting. There was a strange rumbling noise and then silence.

"What d'you think it's doing?" said Dorcas.

"Probably getting ready to pounce," said Ron.

They waited, shivering, hardly daring to move.

"D'you think it's gone?" Harry whispered.

"Dunno -"

Then, to their right, came a sudden blaze of light, so bright in the darkness that both of them flung up their hands to shield their eyes. Fang yelped and tried to run, but got lodged in a tangle of thorns and yelped even louder.

"Harry! 'Dromeda!" Ron shouted, his voice breaking with relief "It's our car!"

"What?"

"Come on!"

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas and Noah blundered after Ron toward the light, stumbling and tripping, and a moment later they had emerged into a clearing.

Mr. Weasley's car was standing, empty, in the middle of a circle of thick trees under a roof of dense branches, its headlights ablaze. As Ron walked, open-mouthed, toward it, it moved slowly toward him, exactly like a large, turquoise dog greeting its owner.

"It's been here all the time!" said Ron delightedly, walking around the car. "Look at it. The forest's turned it wild..."

The sides of the car were scratched and smeared with mud. Apparently it had taken to trundling around the forest on its own. Fang didn't seem at all keen on it; he kept close to Andromeda, who could feel him quivering. Her breathing slowing down again, Andromeda stuffed her wand back into her robes, her friends following suit.

"And we thought it was going to attack us!" said Ron, leaning against the car and patting it. "I wondered where it had gone!"

Andromeda squinted around on the floodlit ground for signs of more spiders, but they had all scuttled away from the glare of the headlights.

"We've lost the trail," Noah said. "C'mon, let's go and find them."

Ron didn't speak. He didn't move. His eyes were fixed on a point some ten feet above the forest floor, right behind Harry and Andromeda. His face was livid with terror.

They didn't even have time to turn around. There was a loud clicking noise and suddenly they felt something long and hairy seize them around their middles and lift them off the ground, so that they were hanging facedown. Struggling, terrified, she heard more clicking, and saw Ron's, Dorcas' and Noah's legs leave the ground, too, heard Fang whimpering and howling - next moment, she was being swept away into the dark trees.

Head hanging, Andromeda saw that what had hold of them was marching on six immensely long, hairy legs, the front two clutching her tightly below a pair of shining black pincers. Behind her, she could hear more of the creatures, no doubt carrying Harry, Ron, Dorcas and Noah. They were moving into the very heart of the forest. Andromeda could hear Fang fighting to free himself from a sixth monster, whining loudly, but Andromeda couldn't have yelled even if she had wanted to; she seemed to have left her voice back with the car in the clearing.

She never knew how long she was in the creature's clutches; she only knew that the darkness suddenly lifted enough for her to see that the leaf-strewn ground was now swarming with spiders. Craning her neck sideways, she realized that they had reached the ridge of a vast hollow, a hollow that had been cleared of trees, so that the stars shone brightly onto the worst scene she had ever laid eyes on.

Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those surging over the leaves below. Spiders the size of carthorses, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic. The massive specimen that was carrying Andromeda made its way down the steep slope toward a misty, domed web in the very centre of the hollow, while its fellows closed in all around it, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of its load.

Andromeda fell to the ground on all fours as the spider released him. Harry, Noah, Dorcas, Ron and Fang thudded down next to her. Fang wasn't howling anymore, but cowering silently on the spot. Ron looked exactly like Andromeda felt. His mouth was stretched wide in a kind of silent scream and his eyes were popping.

Andromeda suddenly realized that the spider that had dropped her was saying something. It had been hard to tell, because he clicked his pincers with every word he spoke.

"Aragog!" it called. "Aragog!"

And from the middle of the misty, domed web, a spider the size of a small elephant emerged, very slowly. There was gray in the black of his body and legs, and each of the eyes on his ugly, pincered head was milky white. He was blind.

"What is it?" he said, clicking his pincers rapidly.

"Humans," clicked the spider who had caught Harry.

"Is it Hagrid?" said Aragog, moving closer, his eight milky eyes wandering vaguely.

"Strangers," clicked the spider who had brought Ron.

"Kill them," clicked Aragog fretfully. "I was sleeping..."

"We're friends of Hagrid's," Harry shouted.

Click, click, click went the pincers of the spiders all around the hollow.

Aragog paused.

"Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before," he said slowly.

"Hagrid's in trouble," said Andromeda, breathing very fast. "That's why we've come."

"In trouble?" said the aged spider, and Andromeda thought she heard concern beneath the clicking pincers. "But why has he sent you?"

Andromeda thought of getting to her feet but decided against it; she didn't think her legs would support her.

"They think," Dorcas said loudly, dear evident in her voice, "up at the school, that Hagrid's been setting a - a - something on students. They've taken him to Azkaban."

Aragog clicked his pincers furiously, and all around the hollow the sound was echoed by the crowd of spiders; it was like applause, except applause didn't usually make Andromeda feel sick with fear.

"But that was years ago," said Aragog fretfully. "Years and years ago. I remember it well. That's why they made him leave the school. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free."

"And you ... you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets?" said Noah.

"I!" said Aragog, clicking angrily. "I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land. A traveller gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me on scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, he protected me. I have lived here in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness..."

Andromeda summoned what remained of his courage.

"So you never - never attacked anyone?" she asked.

"Never," croaked the old spider. "It would have been my instinct, but out of respect for Hagrid, I never harmed a human. The body of the girl who was killed was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind like the dark and the quiet..."

"But then ... Do you know what did kill that girl?" said Harry. "Because whatever it is, it's back and attacking people again -"

His words were drowned by a loud outbreak of clicking and the rustling of many long legs shifting angrily; large black shapes shifted all around him.

"The thing that lives in the castle," said Aragog, "is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about the school."

"What is it?" said Dorcas urgently.

More loud clicking, more rustling; the spiders seemed to be closing in.

"We do not speak of it!" said Aragog fiercely. "We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that dread creature, though he asked me, many times."

Andromeda didn't want to press the subject, not with the spiders pressing closer on all sides. Aragog seemed to be tired of taming. He was backing slowly into his domed web, but his fellow spiders continued to inch slowly toward Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron.

"We'll just go, then," Noah called desperately to Aragog.

"Go?" said Aragog slowly. "I think not..."

"But - but -"

"My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat, when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Good-bye, friend of Hagrid."

Andromeda spun around. Feet away, towering above them, was a solid wall of spiders, clicking, their many eyes gleaming in their ugly black heads.

Even as she reached for her wand, Andromeda knew it was no good, there were too many of them, but as she tried to stand, ready to die fighting, a loud, long note sounded, and a blaze of light flamed through the hollow.

Mr. Weasley's car was thundering down the slope, headlights glaring, its horn screeching, knocking spiders aside; several were thrown onto their backs, their endless legs waving in the air. The car screeched to a halt in front of Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron and the doors flew open.

"Get Fang!" Harry yelled, diving into the front seat; Ron seized the boarhound around the middle and threw him, yelping, into the back of the car where Noah, Dorcas and Andromeda jumped in - the doors slammed shut - Ron didn't touch the accelerator after he got into the driver's seat but the car didn't need him; the engine roared and they were off, hitting more spiders. They sped up the slope, out of the hollow, and they were soon crashing through the forest, branches whipping the windows as the car wound its way cleverly through the widest gaps, following a path it obviously knew.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, looking at Ron.

Ron stared straight ahead, unable to speak.

"Is anyone hurt?" Dorcas said frantically, but Harry, Noah and Andromeda shook their heads.

They smashed their way through the undergrowth, Fang howling loudly in the back seat, and Andromeda saw the side mirror snap off as they squeezed past a large oak. After ten noisy, rocky minutes, the trees thinned, and Andromeda could again see patches of sky.

The car stopped so suddenly that they were nearly thrown into the windshield. They had reached the edge of the forest. Fang flung himself at the window in his anxiety to get out, and when Noah opened the door, he shot off through the trees to Hagrid's house, tail between his legs. They all got out too, and after a minute or so, Ron seemed to regain the feeling in his limbs and followed, still stiff-necked and staring. Harry gave the car a grateful pat as it reversed back into the forest and disappeared from view.

Harry went back into Hagrid's cabin to get the Invisibility Cloak. When Harry got outside again, Ron was being violently sick in the pumpkin patch and Dorcas was hysterically crying.

"Follow the spiders," said Ron weakly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "I'll never forgive Hagrid. We're lucky to be alive."

"I bet he thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his," said Harry.

"That's exactly Hagrid's problem!" said Ron, thumping the wall of the cabin. "He always thinks monsters aren't as bad as they're made out, and look where it's got him! A cell in Azkaban!" He was shivering uncontrollably now. "What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out, I'd like to know?"

"That Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets," said Noah, throwing the cloak over them and prodding him in the arm to make him walk. "He was innocent."

Ron gave a loud snort. Evidently, hatching Aragog in a cupboard wasn't his idea of being innocent.

As the castle loomed nearer Andromeda twitched the cloak to make sure their feet were hidden, then pushed the creaking front doors ajar. They walked carefully back across the entrance hall and up the marble staircase, holding their breath as they passed corridors where watchful sentries were walking. At last they reached the safety of the Gryffindor common room, where the fire had burned itself into glowing ash. They took off the cloak and fell into the armchairs.

The creature that was lurking somewhere in the castle, Andromeda thought, sounded like a sort of monster Voldemort - even other monsters didn't want to name it. But they were no closer to finding out what it was, or how it petrified its victims. Even Hagrid had never known what was in the Chamber of Secrets.

She couldn't see what else they could do. They had hit dead ends everywhere. Riddle had caught the wrong person, the Heir of Slytherin had got off, and no one could tell whether it was the same person, or a different one, who had opened the Chamber this time. There was nobody else to ask.

After what felt like an hour, Dorcas suddenly jumped up, her face void of tears and her eyes wide.

"I just realized -that girl who died. Aragog said she was found in a bathroom," she said. "What if she never left the bathroom? What if she's still there?"

Everyone looked at her and it clicked. Everyone understood, too.

"You don't think - not Moaning Myrtle?" Ron groaned.


	16. Chapter 16 - The Chamber of Secrets

**Chapter 16 - The Chamber of Secrets**

All those times we were in that bathroom, and she was just three toilets away," said Ron bitterly at breakfast next day, "and we could've asked her, and now..."

It had been hard enough trying to look for spiders. Escaping their teachers long enough to sneak into a girls' bathroom, the girls' bathroom, moreover, right next to the scene of the first attack, was going to be almost impossible.

But something happened in their first lesson, Transfiguration, that drove the Chamber of Secrets out of their minds for the first time in weeks. Ten minutes into the class, Professor McGonagall told them that their exams would start on the first of June, one week from today.

"Exams?" howled Seamus Finnigan. "We're still getting exams?"

There was a loud bang behind Andromeda and Harry's desk as Neville Longbottom's wand slipped, vanishing one of the legs on his desk. Professor McGonagall restored it with a wave of her own wand, and turned, frowning, to Seamus.

"The whole point of keeping the school open at this time is for you to receive your education," she said sternly. "The exams will therefore take place as usual, and I trust you are all studying hard."

Studying hard! It had never occurred to Andromeda that there would be exams with the castle in this state. There was a great deal of mutinous muttering around the room, which made Professor McGonagall scowl even more darkly.

"Professor Dumbledore's instructions were to keep the school running as normally as possible," she said. "And that, I need hardly point out, means finding out how much you have learned this year."

Ron looked as though he'd just been told he had to go and live in the Forbidden Forest.

"Can you imagine me taking exams with this?" he asked them, holding up his wand, which had just started whistling loudly.

Three days before their first exam, Professor McGonagall made another announcement at breakfast.

"I have good news," she said, and the Great Hall, instead of falling silent, erupted.

"Dumbledore's coming back!" several people yelled joyfully.

"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" squealed a girl at the Ravenclaw table.

"Quidditch matches are back on!" roared Wood and Andromeda excitedly.

When the hubbub had subsided, Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit."

There was an explosion of cheering. Andromeda looked over at the Slytherin table and wasn't at all surprised to see that Draco Malfoy hadn't joined in. It was a sad thought, that people in her own family were like this, even at their age. Ron, however, was looking happier than he'd looked in days.

"It won't matter that we never asked Myrtle, then!" Dorcas said. "Hermione'll probably have all the answers when they wake her up! Mind you, she'll go crazy when she finds out we've got exams in three days' time. She hasn't studied."

"Yeah," Ron said. "It might be kinder to leave her where she is till they're over."

Just then, Ginny Weasley came over and sat down next to Ron. She looked tense and nervous, and Andromeda noticed that her hands were twisting in her lap.

"What's up?" said Ron, helping himself to more porridge.

Ginny didn't say anything, but glanced up and down the Gryffindor table with a scared look on her face that reminded Andromeda of someone, though she couldn't think who.

"Spit it out," said Ron, watching her.

Andromeda suddenly realized who Ginny looked like. She was rocking backward and forward slightly in her chair, exactly like Dobby did when he was teetering on the edge of revealing forbidden information.

"I've got to tell you something," Ginny mumbled, carefully not looking at anyone.

"What is it?" said Harry.

Ginny looked as though she couldn't find the right words.

"What?"said Ron.

Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Andromeda leaned forward and spoke quietly, so that only Ginny, Harry, Dorcas, Noah and Ron could hear her.

"Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?"

Ginny drew a deep breath and, at that precise moment, Percy Weasley appeared, looking tired and wan.

"If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat, Ginny. I'm starving, I've only just come off patrol duty."

Ginny jumped up as though her chair had just been electrified, gave Percy a fleeting, frightened look, and scampered away. Percy sat down and grabbed a mug from the centre of the table.

"Percy!" said Ron angrily. "She was just about to tell us something important!"

Halfway through a gulp of tea, Percy choked.

"What sort of thing?" he said, coughing.

"I just asked her if she'd seen anything odd, and she started to say -"

"Oh - that - that's nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets," said Percy at once.

"How do you know?" said Noah, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, er, if you must know, Ginny, er, walked in on me the other day when I was - well, never mind - the point is, she spotted me doing something and I, um, I asked her not to mention it to anybody. I must say, I did think she'd keep her word. It's nothing, really, I'd just rather -"

Andromeda had never seen Percy look so uncomfortable.

"What were you doing, Percy?" said Dorcas, grinning. "Go on, tell us, we won't laugh."

Percy didn't smile back.

"Pass me those rolls, Harry, I'm starving."

Andromeda knew the whole mystery might be solved tomorrow without their help, but she wasn't about to pass up a chance to speak to Myrtle if it turned up - and to her delight it did, midmorning, when they were being led to History of Magic by Gilderoy Lockhart.

Lockhart, who had so often assured them that all danger had passed, only to be proved wrong right away, was now wholeheartedly convinced that it was hardly worth the trouble to see them safely down the corridors. His hair wasn't as sleek as usual; it seemed he had been up most of the night, patrolling the fourth floor.

"Mark my words," he said, ushering them around a corner. "The first words out of those poor petrified people's mouths will be 'It was Hagrid.' Frankly, I'm astounded Professor McGonagall thinks all these security measures are necessary."

"I agree, sir," said Harry, making Dorcas drop his books in surprise.

"Thank you, Harry," said Lockhart graciously while they waited for a long line of Hufflepuffs to pass. "I mean, we teachers have quite enough to be getting on with, without walking students to classes and standing guard all night..."

"That's right," said Noah, catching on. "Why don't you leave us here, sir, we've only got one more corridor to go -"

"You know, Weasley, I think I will," said Lockhart. "I really should go and prepare my next class -"

And he hurried off.

"Prepare his class," Andromeda sneered after him. "Gone to curl his hair, more like."

They let the rest of the Gryffindors draw ahead of them, then darted down a side passage and hurried off toward Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. But just as they were congratulating each other on their brilliant scheme

"Potter! Black! Lupin! Pettigrew! Weasley! What are you doing?"

It was Professor McGonagall, and her mouth was the thinnest of thin lines.

"We were -we were-" Noah stammered. "We were going to - to go and see -"

"Hermione," said Harry. Everyone looked at him.

"We haven't seen her for ages, Professor," Harry went on hurriedly, treading on Andromeda's foot, "and we thought we'd sneak into the hospital wing, you know, and tell her the Mandrakes are nearly ready and, er, not to worry -"

Professor McGonagall was still staring at him, and for a moment, Andromeda thought she was going to explode, but when she spoke, it was in a strangely croaky voice.

"Of course," she said, and Andromeda, amazed, saw a tear glistening in her beady eye. "Of course, I realize this has all been hardest on the friends of those who have been ... I quite understand. Yes, of course you all may visit Miss Granger. I will inform Professor Binns where you've gone. Tell Madam Pomfrey I have given my permission."

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron walked away, hardly daring to believe that they'd avoided detention. As they turned the corner, they distinctly heard Professor McGonagall blow her nose.

"That," said Ron fervently, "was the best story you've ever come up with."

They had no choice now but to go to the hospital wing and tell Madam Pomfrey that they had Professor McGonagall's permission to visit Hermione.

Madam Pomfrey let them in, but reluctantly.

"There's just no point talking to a petrified person," she said, and they had to admit she had a point when they'd taken their seats next to Hermione. It was plain that Hermione didn't have the faintest inkling that she had visitors, and that they might just as well tell her bedside cabinet not to worry for all the good it would do.

"Wonder if she did see the attacker, though?" said Ron, looking sadly at Hermione's rigid face. "Because if he sneaked up on them all, no one'll ever know..."

But Dorcas wasn't looking at Hermione's face when Andromeda glanced at her. She was more interested in her right hand. It lay clenched on top of her blankets, and bending closer, Andromeda saw that a piece of paper was scrunched inside her fist.

Making sure that Madam Pomfrey was nowhere near, Dorcas and Andromeda pointed this out to everyone.

"Go on and get it out," Noah whispered, shifting his chair so that he blocked Andromeda and Dorcas from Madam Pomfrey's view.

It was no easy task. Hermione's hand was clamped so tightly around the paper that Andromeda was sure they were going to tear it. While Ron and Noah kept watch Dorcas tugged and twisted, and at last, after several tense minutes, the paper came free.

It was a page torn from a very old library book. They smoothed it out eagerly and Ron and Noah leaned close to read it, too.

 _Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._

And beneath this, a single word had been written, in a hand Andromeda recognized as Hermione's. _Pipes._

It was as though somebody had just flicked a light on in his brain.

"This is it," Harry said. "This is the answer. The monster in the Chamber's a basilisk - a giant serpent! That why Andy and I have been hearing that voice all over the place, and nobody else has heard it. It's because we understand Parseltongue..."

"Of course!" Dorcas said. "How did I not see it before? The basilisk kills people by looking at them. But no one's died - because no one looked it straight in the eye. Colin saw it through his camera. The basilisk burned up all the film inside it, but Colin just got petrified. Justin... Justin must've seen the basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick! Nick got the full blast of it, but he couldn't die again... and Hermione and that Ravenclaw prefect were found with a mirror next to them. Hermione had just realized the monster was a basilisk. I bet you anything she warned the first person she met to look around corners with a mirror first! And that girl pulled out her mirror - and -"

Their jaws had dropped.

"And Mrs. Norris?" Ron whispered eagerly.

Andromeda thought hard, picturing the scene on the night of Halloween.

"The water. . ." Harry said slowly. "The flood from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I bet you Mrs. Norris only saw the reflection . . . ."

She scanned the page in Dorcas' hand eagerly. The more she looked at it, the more it made sense.

" ...The crowing of the rooster... is fatal to it"! she read aloud. "Hagrid's roosters were killed! The Heir of Slytherin didn't want one anywhere near the castle once the Chamber was opened! Spiders flee before it.! It all fits!"

"But how's the basilisk been getting around the place?" said Ron. "A giant snake . . . Someone would've seen. . ."

"Pipes," Noah said, finally speaking. "Pipes... It's been using the plumbing."

"It makes sense," Andromeda said. "We've been hearing that voice inside the walls . . . ."

Ron suddenly grabbed Andromeda's arm. "The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets!" he said hoarsely. "What if it's a bathroom? What if it's in -"

"- Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," said Harry. They sat there, excitement coursing through them, hardly able to believe it.

"This means," said Dorcas, "you two can't be the only Parselmouths in the school. The Heir of Slytherin's one, too. That's how he's been controlling the basilisk."

"What're we going to do?" said Ron, whose eyes were flashing. "Should we go straight to McGonagall?"

"Let's go to the staff room," said Andromeda, jumping up. "She'll be there in ten minutes. It's nearly break."

They ran downstairs. Not wanting to be discovered hanging around in another corridor, they went straight into the deserted staff room. It was a large, panelled room full of dark, wooden chairs. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron paced around it, too excited to sit down. But the bell to signal break never came. Instead, echoing through the corridors came Professor McGonagall's voice, magically magnified.

"All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please. "

Andromeda wheeled around to stare at her friends. "Not another attack? Not now?"

"What'll we do?" said Ron, aghast. "Go back to the dormitory?"

"No," said Harry, glancing around. There was an ugly sort of wardrobe to his left, full of the teachers' cloaks. "In here. Let's hear what it's all about. Then we can tell them what we've found out."

They hid themselves inside it, listening to the rumbling of hundreds of people moving overhead, and the staff room door banging open. From between the musty folds of the cloaks, they watched the teachers filtering into the room. Some of them were looking puzzled, others downright scared. Then Professor McGonagall arrived.

"It has happened," she told the silent staff room. "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Professor Flitwick let out a squeal. Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth. Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard and said, "How can you be sure?"

"The Heir of Slytherin," said Professor McGonagall, who was very white, "left another message. Right underneath the first one. 'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.'"

Professor Flitwick burst into tears.

"Who is it?" said Madam Hooch, who had sunk, weak-kneed, into a chair. "Which student?"

"Ginny Weasley," said Professor McGonagall.

Andromeda felt Ron slide silently down onto the wardrobe floor beside her and she felt her eyes tearing up.

"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow," said Professor McGonagall. "This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said..."

The staffroom door banged open again. For one wild moment, Andromeda was sure it would be Dumbledore. But it was Lockhart, and he was beaming.

"So sorry - dozed off - what have I missed?"

He didn't seem to notice that the other teachers were looking at him with something remarkably like hatred. Snape stepped forward.

"Just the man," he said. "The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last."

Lockhart blanched.

"That's right, Gilderoy," chipped in Professor Sprout. "Weren't you saying just last night that you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"

"I - well, I -"sputtered Lockhart.

"Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?" piped up Professor Flitwick.

"D-did I? I don't recall -"

"I certainly remember you saying you were sorry you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested," said Snape. "Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled, and that you should have been given a free rein from the first?"

Lockhart stared around at his stony-faced colleagues.

"I - I really never - you may have misunderstood -"

"We'll leave it to you, then, Gilderoy," said Professor McGonagall. "Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last."

Lockhart gazed desperately around him, but nobody came to the rescue. He didn't look remotely handsome anymore. His lip was trembling, and in the absence of his usually toothy grin, he looked weak-chinned and feeble.

"Very well," he said. "I'll - I'll be in my office, getting - getting ready."

And he left the room.

"Right," said Professor McGonagall, whose nostrils were flared, "that's got him out from under our feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories."

The teachers rose and left, one by one.

It was probably the worst day of Andromeda's entire life. She, Harry, Noah, Dorcas, Ron, Fred, and George sat together in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, unable to say anything to each other. Percy wasn't there. He had gone to send an owl to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, then shut himself up in his dormitory.

No afternoon ever lasted as long as that one, nor had Gryffindor Tower ever been so crowded, yet so quiet. Near sunset, Fred and George went up to bed, unable to sit there any longer.

"She knew something," said Ron, speaking for the first time since they had entered the wardrobe in the staff room. "That's why she was taken. It wasn't some stupid thing about Percy at all. She'd found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That must be why she was -" Ron rubbed his eyes frantically. "I mean, she was a pure- blood. There can't be any other reason."

Andromeda could see the sun sinking, blood-red, below the skyline. This was the worst she had ever felt. If only there was something they could do. Anything.

"D'you think there's any chance at all she's not - you know -"

Andromeda didn't know what to say. She couldn't see how Ginny could still be alive.

"D'you know what?" said Noah. "I think we should go and see Lockhart. Tell him what we know. He's going to try and get into the Chamber. We can tell him where we think it is, and tell him it's a basilisk in there."

Because Andromeda couldn't think of anything else to do, and because she wanted to be doing something, she agreed, as did the rest of the group. The Gryffindors around them were so miserable, and felt so sorry for the Weasleys, that nobody tried to stop them as they got up, crossed the room, and left through the portrait hole.

Darkness was falling as they walked down to Lockhart's office. There seemed to be a lot of activity going on inside it. They could hear scraping, thumps, and hurried footsteps.

Harry knocked and there was a sudden silence from inside. Then the door opened the tiniest crack and they saw one of Lockhart's eyes peering through it.

"Oh - students -" he said, opening the door a bit wider. "I'm rather busy at the moment - if you would be quick -"

"Professor, we've got some information for you," said Dorcas. "We think it'll help you."

"Er - well - it's not terribly -" The side of Lockhart's face that they could see looked very uncomfortable. "I mean - well all right -"

He opened the door and they entered.

His office had been almost completely stripped. Two large trunks stood open on the floor. Robes, jade-green, lilac, midnight-blue, had been hastily folded into one of them; books were jumbled untidily into the other. The photographs that had covered the walls were now crammed into boxes on the desk.

"Are you going somewhere?" said Andromeda.

"Er, well, yes," said Lockhart, ripping a life-size poster of himself from the back of the door as he spoke and starting to roll it up. "Urgent call - unavoidable - got to go -"

"What about my sister?" said Ron jerkily.

"Well, as to that - most unfortunate -" said Lockhart, avoiding their eyes as he wrenched open a drawer and started emptying the contents into a bag. "No one regrets more than I -"

"You're the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher!" said Harry. "You can't go now! Not with all the Dark stuff going on here!"

"Well - I must say - when I took the job -" Lockhart muttered, now piling socks on top of his robes. "nothing in the job description - didn't expect -"

"You mean you're running away?" said Dorcas disbelievingly. "After all that stuff you did in your books -"

"Books can be misleading," said Lockhart delicately.

"You wrote them!" Harry shouted.

"My dear boy," said Lockhart, straightening up and frowning at Harry. "Do use your common sense. My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things. No one wants to read about some ugly old Armenian warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover. No dress sense at all. And the witch who banished the Bandon Banshee had a harelip. I mean, come on -"

"So you've just been taking credit for what a load of other people have done?" said Harry incredulously.

"Harry, Harry," said Lockhart, shaking his head impatiently, "it's not nearly as simple as that. There was work involved. I had to track these people down. Ask them exactly how they managed to do what they did. Then I had to put a Memory Charm on them so they wouldn't remember doing it. If there's one thing I pride myself on, it's my Memory Charms. No, it's been a lot of work, Harry. It's not all book signings and publicity photos, you know. You want fame, you have to be prepared for a long hard slog."

He banged the lids of his trunks shut and locked them.

"Let's see," he said. "I think that's everything. Yes. Only one thing left."

He pulled out his wand and turned to them.

"Awfully sorry, kids, but I'll have to put a Memory Charm on you now. Can't have you blabbing my secrets all over the place. I'd never sell another book -"

Harry reached his wand just in time. Lockhart had barely raised his, when Harry bellowed, "Expelliarmus!"

Lockhart was blasted backward, falling over his trunk; his wand flew high into the air; Ron caught it, and flung it out of the open window.

"Shouldn't have let Professor Snape teach us that one," said Noah furiously, kicking Lockhart's trunk aside. Lockhart was looking up at her, feeble once more. Harry was still pointing his wand at him.

"What d'you want me to do?" said Lockhart weakly. "I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's nothing I can do."

"You're in luck," said Andromeda, forcing Lockhart to his feet at wand-point. "We think we know where it is. And what's inside it. And you are coming with us or so help me I will jinx your arse into next week. Let's go."

They marched Lockhart out of his office and down the nearest stairs, along the dark corridor where the messages shone on the wall, to the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

They sent Lockhart in first. Andromeda was pleased to see that he was shaking.

Moaning Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet.

"Oh, it's you," she said when she saw them. "What do you want this time?"

"To ask you how you died," said Harry.

Myrtle's whole aspect changed at once. She looked as though she had never been asked such a flattering question.

"Ooooh, it was dreadful," she said with relish. "It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a boy speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then -" Myrtle swelled importantly, her face shining. "I died."

"How?" said Harry.

"No idea," said Myrtle in hushed tones. "I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away..." She looked dreamily at Harry. "And then I came back again. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see. Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses."

"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" said Andromeda.

"Somewhere there," said Myrtle, pointing vaguely toward the sink in front of her toilet.

Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron hurried over to it. Lockhart was standing well back, a look of utter terror on his face.

It looked like an ordinary sink. They examined every inch of it, inside and out, including the pipes below. And then Andromeda saw it: Scratched on the side of one of the copper taps was a tiny snake.

She hit Harry's arm and pointed to it.

"That tap's never worked," said Myrtle brightly as he tried to turn it.

"Harry, 'Dromeda" said Noah. "Say something. Something in Parseltongue."

"But -" Andromeda thought hard. The only times they'd ever managed to speak Parseltongue were when they'd been faced with a real snake. Andromeda and Harry stared hard at the tiny- engraving, trying to imagine it was real.

"Open up," Andromeda said.

She looked at her friends, who shook their heads.

"English," Dorcas said.

Harry and Andromeda looked back at the snake, willing themselves to believe it was alive. If she moved his head, the candlelight made it look as though it were moving.

"Open up," they both said.

Except that the words weren't what they heard; a strange hissing had escaped them, and at once the tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. Next second, the sink began to move; the sink, in fact, sank, right out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed, a pipe wide enough for a man to slide into.

Andromeda heard gasps and looked up again. She had made up his mind what he was going to do.

"I'm going down there," she said. She couldn't not go, not now they had found the entrance to the Chamber, not if there was even the faintest, slimmest, wildest chance that Ginny might be alive.

"I'm coming too." She looked at Harry and nodded. They did everything together; they weren't about to change that now.

"Me too," said Dorcas.

"And me," Noah said.

"I'm coming," Ron said.

There was a pause.

"Well, you hardly seem to need me," said Lockhart, with a shadow of his old smile. "I'll just -"

He put his hand on the door knob, but everyone both pointed their wands at him.

"You can go first," Ron snarled.

White-faced and wand-less, Lockhart approached the opening.

"Boys, girls," he said, his voice feeble. "What good will it do?"

Andromeda jabbed him in the back with her wand. Lockhart slid his legs into the pipe.

"I really don't think -" he started to say, but Noah gave him a push, and he slid out of sight. Harry followed quickly and then Andromeda.

It was like rushing down an endless, slimy, dark slide. Andromeda could see more pipes branching off in all directions, but none as large as theirs, which twisted and turned, sloping steeply downward, and she knew that she was falling deeper below the school than even the dungeons. Behind her she could hear Dorcas, Noah and Ron, thudding slightly at the curves.

And then, just as she had begun to worry about what would happen when she hit the ground, the pipe levelled out, and she shot out of the end with a wet thud, landing on the damp floor of a dark stone tunnel large enough to stand in. Lockhart was getting to his feet a little ways away, covered in slime and white as a ghost. Harry beside her and she moved aside as Ron, Dorcas and Noah came whizzing out of the pipe, too.

"We must be miles under the school," said Dorcas, her voice echoing in the black tunnel.

"Under the lake, probably," said Noah, squinting around at the dark, slimy walls.

All six of them turned to stare into the darkness ahead.

"Lumos!" Andromeda muttered to her wand and it lit again.

"C'mon," Harry said to Dorcas, Noah, Ron and Lockhart, and, after everyone lit their wands except for Ron and Lockhart, off they went, their footsteps slapping loudly on the wet floor.

The tunnel was so dark that they could only see a little distance ahead. Their shadows on the wet walls looked monstrous in the wand-light.

"Remember," Dorcas said quietly as they walked cautiously forward, "any sign of movement, close your eyes right away..."

But the tunnel was quiet as the grave, and the first unexpected sound they heard was a loud crunch as Ron stepped on what turned out to be a rat's skull. Andromeda lowered her wand to look at the floor and saw that it was littered with small animal bones. Trying very hard not to imagine what Ginny might look like if they found her, she led the way forward, around a dark bend in the tunnel.

"Guys - there's something up there -" said Ron hoarsely, grabbing Harry's shoulder.

They froze, watching. Andromeda could just see the outline of something huge and curved, lying right across the tunnel. It wasn't moving.

"Maybe it's asleep," she breathed, glancing back at the other six. Lockhart's hands were pressed over his eyes. Andromeda turned back to look at the thing, her heart beating so fast it hurt.

Very slowly, her eyes as narrow as she could make them and still see. Harry and Andromeda edged forward, their wands held high.

The light slid over a gigantic snake skin, of a vivid, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor. The creature that had shed it must have been twenty feet long at least.

"Blimey," said Ron weakly.

There was a sudden movement behind them. Gilderoy Lockhart's knees had given way.

"Get up," said Ron sharply, pointing his wand at Lockhart.

Lockhart got to his feet - then he dived at Ron, knocking him to the ground.

They jumped forward, but too late - Lockhart was straightening up, panting, Ron's wand in his hand and a gleaming smile back on his face.

"The adventure ends here, kids!" he said. "I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you five tragically lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body - say good-bye to your memories!"

He raised Ron's Spellotaped wand high over his head and yelled, "Obliviate!"

The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb. Andromeda grabbed Harry and stumble backwards, pulling him with her. A noisy explosion sounded and Andromeda could only see rocks in the direction her friends were in.

"Dorcas!" she shouted. "Are you okay? Noah! Ron!"

"Ron!" Harry shouted from beside her.

"I'm here!" came Ron's muffled voice from behind the rock-fall. "I'm okay - this git's not, though - he got blasted by the wand -'

"Who did?" Andromeda asked frantically.

"Lockhart," all three of her friends on the other side said. She let out a sigh of relief.

There was a dull thud and a loud "ow!" It sounded as though Ron had just kicked Lockhart in the shins.

"What now?" Dorcas' voice said, sounding desperate. "We can't get through - it'll take ages..."

Andromeda looked at Harry and then looked up at the tunnel ceiling. Huge cracks had appeared in it. She had never tried to break apart anything as large as these rocks by magic, and now didn't seem a good moment to try - what if the whole tunnel caved in?

There was another thud and another "ow!" from behind the rocks. They were wasting time. Ginny had already been in the Chamber of Secrets for hours... Andromeda knew there was only one thing to do. So did Harry, apparently.

"Wait there," he called to the others. "Wait with Lockhart. We'll go on... If we're not back in an hour..."

There was a very pregnant pause, and Andromeda grabbed Harry's hand, squeezing it tightly.

"We'll try and shift some of this rock," said Noah, who seemed to be trying to keep his voice steady. "So you can - can get back through. And, 'Dromeda, Harry -"

"See you in a bit," said Harry, trying to inject some confidence into his shaking voice.

"'Dromeda!" Dorcas said loudly.

"Yes?"

"Promise me you won't die?" she said softly, but Andromeda still heard her.

Andromeda's mind flashed back to a year ago when Dorcas had last said those words. She smiled to herself and replied, "I solemnly swear."

And her and Harry set off past the giant snake skin hand in hand and terrified.

Soon the distant noise of Ron, Dorcas and Noah straining to shift the rocks was gone. The tunnel turned and turned again. Every nerve in Andromeda's body was tingling unpleasantly. She wanted the tunnel to end, yet dreaded what they'd find when it did. And then, at last, as they crept around yet another bend, they saw a solid wall ahead on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

Harry and Andromeda approached, their throats very dry. There was no need to pretend these stone snakes were real; their eyes looked strangely alive.

They could guess what they had to do. They cleared their throats, and the emerald eyes seemed to flicker.

"Open, "they said together, in a low, faint hiss.

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight, and Harry and Andromeda, shaking from head to foot, walked inside.


	17. Chapter 17 - The Heir of Slytherin

**Chapter 17 - The Heir of Slytherin**

They were standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

Her heart beating very fast, Andromeda stood next to Harry listening to the chill silence. Could the basilisk be lurking in a shadowy corner, behind a pillar? And where was Ginny?

They pulled out their wand and they moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every careful footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. Andromeda kept her eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following them. More than once, with a jolt of the stomach, she thought she saw one stir.

Then, as they drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed into view, standing against the back wall.

Harry and Andromeda had to crane their necks to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes, where two enormous gray feet stood on the smooth chamber floor. And between the feet, facedown, lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair.

"Ginny!" Andromeda muttered, and they sprinted to her and dropping to their knees. "Ginny - don't be dead - please don't be dead -" They flung their wands aside, grabbed Ginny and turned her over. Her face was white as marble, and as cold, yet her eyes were closed, so she wasn't petrified. But then she must be -

"Ginny, please wake up," Harry muttered desperately, shaking her. Ginny's head lolled hopelessly from side to side.

"She won't wake," said a soft voice.

Harry and Andromeda jumped and spun around on their knees.

A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Harry were looking at him through a misted window. But there was no mistaking him

"Tom - Tom Riddle?" she choked out.

Riddle nodded, not taking his eyes off Harry's and Andromeda's faces.

"What d'you mean, she won't wake?" Harry said desperately. "She's not - she's not -?"

"She's still alive," said Riddle. "But only just."

Andromeda stared at him. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, not a day older than sixteen.

"Are you a ghost?" Andromeda said uncertainly.

"A memory," said Riddle quietly. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."

He pointed toward the floor near the statue's giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary they had found in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. For a second, Andromeda wondered how it had got there - but there were more pressing matters to deal with.

"You've got to help us, Tom," Harry said, raising Ginny's head again. "We've got to get her out of here. There's a basilisk... I don't know where it is, but it could be along any moment... Please, help us!"

Riddle didn't move. Harry and Andromeda, sweating, managed to hoist Ginny half off the floor, and bent to pick up their wands again.

But their wands had gone.

"Did you see -?"

She looked up. Riddle was still watching them - twirling Harry's and Andromeda's wands between his long fingers.

"Thanks," said Andromeda, stretching out her hand for it.

A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry and Andromeda, twirling the wand idly.

"Listen," said Harry urgently, his knees sagging with Ginny's dead weight. "We've got to go! If the basilisk comes -"

"It won't come until it is called," said Riddle calmly.

They lowered Ginny back onto the floor, unable to hold her up any longer.

"What d'you mean?" Harry said. "Look, give us our wands, we might need them -"

Riddle's smile broadened.

"You won't be needing them," he said.

Andromeda stared at him.

"What d'you mean, I won't be -?"

"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter and Andromeda Black," said Riddle. "For the chance to see you two. To speak to you two."

"Look," said Andromeda, losing patience, "I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later -"

"We're going to talk now," said Riddle, still smiling broadly, and he pocketed Harry's and Andromeda's wands.

They stared at him. There was something very funny going on here...

"How did Ginny get like this?" Andromeda asked slowly.

"Well, that's an interesting question," said Riddle pleasantly. "And quite a long story. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."

"What are you talking about?" said Harry.

"The diary," said Riddle. "My diary. Little Ginny's been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes - how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with second-hand robes and books, how" -Riddle's eyes glinted "how she didn't think famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her compared to his best friend Andromeda Black..."

All the time he spoke, Riddle's eyes never left their faces. There was an almost hungry look in them.

"It's very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven- year-old girl," he went on. "But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom... I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in... It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket..."

Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn't suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of Andromeda's neck.

"If I say it myself, Harry, I've always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted... I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her..."

"What d'you mean?" said Harry.

" Haven't you guessed yet, Harry Potter?" said Riddle softly. "Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods, and the Squib's cat."

"No," Andromeda whispered, looking down at Ginny. "She wouldn't."

"Yes, Andromeda Black. She would," said Riddle, calmly. "Of course, she didn't know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries... far more interesting, they became... 'Dear Tom,'" he recited, watching Harry's and Andromeda's horrified faces, "'I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and 1 don't know how they got there. Dear Tom, l can't remember what 1 did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I've got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale and I'm not myself. I think he suspects me... There was another attack today and I don't know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I'm going mad... I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!'"

Andromeda's fists were clenched, the nails digging deep into her palms.

"It took a very long time for stupid little Ginny to stop trusting her diary," said Riddle. "But she finally became suspicious and tried to dispose of it. And that's where you two came in, Harry, Andromeda. You two found it, and I couldn't have been more delighted. Of all the people who could have picked it up, it was you two, the very people I was most anxious to meet..."

"And why did you want to meet us?" said Harry.

"Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you two," said Riddle. "Your whole fascinating history. " His eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry's forehead, and their expression grew hungrier. " And of course, she found out about your past, Andromeda Black, when she overheard a conversation with you and Harry about hearing a voice. She said she heard you say you had a scar which was somehow connected to the Dark Lord, like Harry's." Andromeda could have sworn she saw his eyes flicker down to her own lightning-shaped scar on her left forearm. "She did some research about that night when your mother died and found out that it was at the Potter's house and she knew that he must have tried to kill you, too.

"I knew I must find out more about you two, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my famous capture of that great oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust -"

"Hagrid's our friend," said Harry, his voice now shaking. "And you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake, but -"

Riddle laughed his high laugh again.

"It was my word against Hagrid's, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student... on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls ... but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realize that Hagrid couldn't possibly be the Heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance... as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power!

"Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed... Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did..."

"I bet Dumbledore saw right through you," said Andromeda, her teeth gritted.

"Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled," said Riddle carelessly. "I knew it wouldn't be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn't going to waste those long years I'd spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."

"Well, you haven't finished it," said Andromeda triumphantly. "No one's died this time, not even the cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was petrified will be all right again -"

"Haven't I already told you," said Riddle quietly, "that killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore? For many months now, my new target has been you two."

Harry and Andromeda stared at him.

"Imagine how angry I was when the next time my diary was opened, it was Ginny who was writing to me, not you. She saw you with the diary, you see, and panicked. "What if you found out how to work it, and I repeated all her secrets to you? What if, even worse, I told you who'd been strangling roosters? So the foolish little brat waited until the girl's dormitory was deserted and stole it back. But I knew what I must do. It was clear to me that you were on the trail of Slytherin's heir. From everything Ginny had told me about you, I knew you would go to any lengths to solve the mystery - particularly if one of your best friends was attacked. And Ginny had told me the whole school was buzzing because you two could speak Parseltongue..."

"So I made Ginny write her own farewell on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled and cried and became very boring. But there isn't much life left in her... She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me leave its pages at last... I have been waiting for you to appear since we arrived here. I knew you'd come. I have many questions for you, Harry Potter and Andromeda Black."

"Like what?" Harry spat, fists still clenched.

"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you a skinny boy and girl with no extraordinary magical talent - managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you two escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now.

"Why do you care how we escaped?" said Andromeda slowly. "Voldemort was after your time..."

"Voldemort," said Riddle softly, "is my past, present, and future..."

He pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words:

 _TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE_

Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves:

 _I AM LORD VOLDEMORT_

"You see?" he whispered. "It was a name I was already using at Hogwarts, to my most intimate friends only, of course. You think I was going to use my filthy Muggle father's name forever? I, in whose veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, through my mother's side? I, keep the name of a foul, common Muggle, who abandoned me even before I was born, just because he found out his wife was a witch? No - I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

Andromeda's brain seemed to have jammed. She stared numbly at Riddle, at the orphaned boy who had grown up to murder Harry's own parents and Andromeda's mother, and so many others...

"You're not," Harry said, his quiet voice full of hatred.

"Not what?" snapped Riddle.

"Not the greatest sorcerer in the world," said Harry, breathing fast. "Sorry to disappoint you and all that, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore. Everyone says so. Even when you were strong, you didn't dare try and take over at Hogwarts. Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days -"

The smile had gone from Riddle's face, to be replaced by a very ugly look.

"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me!" he hissed.

"He's not as gone as you might think!" Andromeda retorted. She was speaking at random, wanting to scare Riddle, wishing rather than believing it to be true

Riddle opened his mouth, but froze.

Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Andromeda's scalp and made her heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size. Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Andromeda felt it vibrating inside her own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar.

A crimson bird the size of a swan had appeared, piping its weird music to the vaulted ceiling. It had a glittering golden tail as long as a peacock's and gleaming golden talons, which were gripping a ragged bundle.

A second later, the bird was flying straight at Harry and Andromeda. It dropped the ragged thing it was carrying at their feet, then landed heavily on Andromeda's shoulder. As it folded its great wings, Andromeda looked up and saw it had a long, sharp golden beak and a beady black eye.

The bird stopped singing. It sat still and warm next to Andromeda's cheek, gazing steadily at Riddle.

"That's a phoenix," said Riddle, staring shrewdly back at it.

"Fawkes?" Harry breathed, and Andromeda felt the bird's golden claws squeeze her shoulder gently.

"And that -" said Riddle, now eyeing the ragged thing that Fawkes had dropped, "that's the old school Sorting Hat -"

So it was. Patched, frayed, and dirty, the hat lay motionless at Harry's and Andromeda's feet.

Riddle began to laugh again. He laughed so hard that the dark chamber rang with it, as though ten Riddles were laughing at once

"This is what Dumbledore sends his defenders! A songbird and an old hat! Do you feel brave, Harry Potter? Do you, Andromeda Black? Do you feel safe now?"

Neither of them answered. They might not see what use Fawkes or the Sorting Hat were, but they were no longer alone, and they waited for Riddle to stop laughing with their courage mounting.

"To business, Harry, Andromeda," said Riddle, still smiling broadly. "Twice - in your past, in my future - we have met. And twice I failed to kill you both. How did you two survive? Tell me everything. The longer you talk," he added softly, "the longer you stay alive."

Andromeda was thinking fast, weighing her chances. Riddle had the wand. She and Harry had Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, neither of which would be much good in a duel. It looked bad, all right... but the longer Riddle stood there, the more life was dwindling out of Ginny... and in the meantime, Andromeda noticed suddenly, Riddle's outline was becoming clearer, more solid... If it had to be a fight between her, Harry and Riddle, better sooner than later.

"No one knows why you lost your powers when you attacked us," said Harry abruptly. "We don't know ourselves. But we know why you couldn't kill us. Because our mothers died to save us."

"Harry's common Muggle-born mother and my half-breed mother," Andromeda added, shaking with suppressed rage. "They stopped you killing us. And we've seen the real you, we saw you last year. You're a wreck. You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you. You're in hiding. You're ugly, you're foul -"

Riddle's face contorted. Then he forced it into an awful smile. "So. Your mothers died to save you. Yes, that's a powerful countercharm. I can see now... there is nothing special about you, after all. I wondered, you see. There are strange likenesses between us, after all. Even you two must have noticed. All half-bloods, orphans, well – practically an orphan in your case, Andromeda - raised by Muggles. Probably the only three Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself We even look something alike... but after all, it was merely a lucky chance that saved you from me. That's all I wanted to know."

Harry and Andromeda stood, tense, waiting for Riddle to raise Harry's wand. But Riddle's twisted smile was widening again.

"Now, Harry, Andromeda, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter, his little half-breed girlfriend, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give them..."

He cast an amused eye over Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, then walked away. Andromeda, fear spreading up her numb legs, watched Riddle stop between the high pillars and look up into the stone face of Slytherin, high above him in the half-darkness. Riddle opened his mouth wide and hissed - but Andromeda understood what he was saying...

"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four."

Harry and Andromeda wheeled around to look up at the statue, Fawkes swaying on her shoulder.

Slytherin's gigantic stone face was moving. Horror-struck, they saw his mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole.

And something was stirring inside the statue's mouth. Something was slithering up from its depths.

They backed away until they hit the dark Chamber wall, and as they shut their eyes tight Andromeda felt Fawkes' wing sweep her cheek as he took flight. Andromeda found Harry's hand gripped it tight.

Something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. Andromeda felt it shudder - she knew what was happening, she could sense it, could almost see the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin's mouth. Then she heard Riddle's hissing voice:

"Kill them."

The basilisk was moving toward Harry and Andromeda; she could hear its heavy body slithering heavily across the dusty floor. Eyes still tightly shut, Harry let go of Andromeda and she began to run blindly sideways, her hands outstretched, feeling her way - Voldemort was laughing

She heard a thump and Harry's footsteps ceased and she froze. Did the basilisk kill him?

There was a loud, explosive spitting sound right above her, and then something heavy hit Andromeda so hard that she was smashed into the wall. Waiting for fangs to sink through her body she heard more mad hissing, something thrashing wildly off the pillars.

She couldn't help it – she had to see what was going on and she had to see Harry - she opened her eyes wide enough to squint at what was going on.

The enormous serpent, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had raised itself high in the air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars. As Andromeda trembled, ready to close her eyes if it turned, she saw what had distracted the snake.

Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabres.

Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sank out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake's tail thrashed, narrowly missing Harry who was on the floor a few meters away, and before Andromeda could shut her eyes, it turned – Andromeda looked straight into its face and saw that its eyes, both its great, bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured by the phoenix; blood was streaming to the floor, and the snake was spitting in agony.

"NO!" Andromeda heard Riddle screaming. "LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY AND GIRL ARE BEHIND YOU. YOU CAN STILL SMELL THEM. KILL HIMI"

The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie song, jabbing here and there at its scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes.

"Help me, help me," Harry muttered wildly, "someone – anyone -"

Andromeda raced across the chamber to him and sunk to her knees beside him.

The snake's tail whipped across the floor again. They ducked. She saw something hit Harry's face.

The basilisk had swept the Sorting Hat into Harry. Harry seized it. He rammed it onto his head and they both threw themselves flat onto the floor as the basilisk's tail swung over them again.

After a moment of staring at him, Andromeda saw Harry grab the top of the hat to pull it off.

A gleaming silver sword had appeared inside the hat, its handle glittering with rubies the size of eggs.

"KILL THEM! LEAVE THE BIRD! THEY ARE BEHIND YOU. SNIFF - SMELL THEM."

Harry was on his feet. The basilisk's head was falling, its body coiling around, hitting pillars as it twisted to face him. Andromeda could see the vast, bloody eye sockets, see the mouth stretching wide, wide enough to swallow him whole, lined with fangs long as his sword, thin, glittering, venomous -

It lunged blindly - Harry dodged, Andromeda ducked and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again, and its forked tongue lashed Harry's side. Andromeda watched transfixed as Harry raised the sword in both his hands -

The basilisk lunged again, and this time its aim was true - Harry threw his whole weight behind the sword and drove it to the hilt into the roof of the serpent's mouth -

But as warm blood drenched Harry's arms, Andromeda, horrified, saw something that made her sick to the stomach. One long, poisonous fang was sinking deeper and deeper into Harry's arm and it splintered as the basilisk keeled over sideways and fell, twitching, to the floor.

"HARRY!" she screamed.

Harry slid down the wall. Andromeda crawled over to him. She gripped the fang that was spreading poison through his body and wrenched it out of his arm. But she knew it was too late.

A patch of scarlet swam past, and Andromeda heard a soft clatter of claws beside her.

"Fawkes," said Harry thickly. "You were fantastic, Fawkes..."

She saw the bird lay its beautiful head on the spot where the serpent's fang had pierced him.

"Harry, please don't die," Andromeda pleaded, hot, thick tears rolling down her cheeks as she reach over him and held onto his hand. "Please..."

She could hear echoing footsteps and then a dark shadow moved in front of them.

"You're dead, Harry Potter," said Riddle's voice above him. "Dead. Even Dumbledore's bird knows it. Do you see what he's doing, Potter? He's crying."

Andromeda blinked. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the glossy feathers.

"I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter, and Andromeda is going to watch. Take your time. I'm in no hurry."

"Harry, please hold on, please don't leave me." Andromeda felt him slightly squeeze her hand.

"So ends the famous Harry Potter," said Riddle's distant voice. "In the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by his friends, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged and watched by his best friend. You'll be back with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry... She bought you twelve years of borrowed time... but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must..."

Andromeda, through her tears, could see Harry gave his head a little shake she saw Fawkes, still resting his head on Harry's arm. A pearly patch of tears was shining all around the wound - except that there was no wound

"Get away, bird," said Riddle's voice suddenly. "Get away from him - I said, get away -"

Harry raised his head. Riddle was pointing Harry's wand at Fawkes; there was a bang like a gun, and Fawkes took flight again in a whirl of gold and scarlet.

"Phoenix tears -" said Riddle quietly, staring at Harry's arm. "Of course... healing powers... I forgot..."

He looked into Harry's face. "But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just us, Harry Potter... you, me and Andromeda..."

He raised the wand

Then, in a rush of wings, Fawkes had soared back overhead and something fell into Harry's lap - the diary.

For a split second, Andromeda, Harry and Riddle, wand still raised, stared at it. Then, without thinking, without considering, as though she had meant to do it all along, Andromeda seized the basilisk fang on the floor next to them and plunged it straight into the heart of the book.

There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming over Andromeda's hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing and then -

He had gone. Harry's and Andromeda's wands fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady drip drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it.

Shaking all over, Andromeda threw her arms around Harry. They stayed there, hugging and sobbing for what seemed like forever. Then, slowly, they gathered together their wands and the Sorting Hat, and, with a huge tug, Harry retrieved the glittering sword from the roof of the basilisk's mouth.

Then came a faint moan from the end of the Chamber. Ginny was stirring. As Harry and Andromeda hurried toward her, she sat up. Her bemused eyes travelled from the huge form of the dead basilisk, over Harry and Andromeda, in their blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in Andromeda's hand. She drew a great, shuddering gasp and tears began to pour down her face.

"Harry - oh, Andromeda - I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn't say it in front of Percy - it was me - but I - I s-swear I d- didn't mean to - R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over - and - how did you kill that - that thing? W-where's Riddle? The last thing I r- remember is him coming out of the diary -"

" It's all right," said Andromeda, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole, "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here -"

"I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept as Harry and Andromeda helped her awkwardly to her feet. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and - w-what'll Mum and Dad say?"

Fawkes was waiting for them, hovering in the Chamber entrance. They urged Ginny forward; they stepped over the motionless coils of the dead basilisk, through the echoing gloom, and back into the tunnel. Andromeda heard the stone doors close behind them with a soft hiss.

After a few minutes' progress up the dark tunnel, a distant sound of slowly shifting rock reached Andromeda's ears.

"Dorcas! Noah!" Andromeda yelled, speeding up.

"Ron!" Harry shouted. "Ginny's okay! We've got her!"

She heard Ron, Dorcas and Noah give a strangled cheer, and they turned the next bend to see their eager faces staring through the sizable gap they had managed to make in the rock-fall.

"Ginny!" Ron thrust an arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened?"

" How - what - where did that bird come from?" Noah asked.

Fawkes had swooped through the gap after Ginny.

"He's Dumbledore's," said Harry, squeezing through himself.

"How come you've got a sword?" said Ron, gaping at the glittering weapon in Harry's hand.

Andromeda squeezed through last and barely made it through before her vision was blurred by thick light-brown hair.

"Oh, you're alive!" Dorcas exclaimed.

"Well I did solemnly swear," Andromeda laughed as she returned the hug.

"We'll explain everything when we get out of here," said Harry with a sideways glance at Ginny, who was crying harder than ever.

"But -"

"Later," Andromeda said shortly, pulling away from Dorcas and wrapping her arms around Noah. She didn't think it was a good idea to tell Ron yet who'd been opening the Chamber, not in front of Ginny, anyway. "Where's Lockhart?"

"Back there," said Ron, still looking puzzled but jerking his head up the tunnel toward the pipe. "He's in a bad way. Come and see."

Led by Fawkes, whose wide scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, they walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe. Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.

"His memory's gone," said Dorcas. "The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself."

Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at them all.

"Hello," he said. "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"

"No," said Ron, raising his eyebrows at Harry and Andromeda.

Andromeda bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe.

"Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?" Harry said to Ron.

Ron shook his head, but Fawkes the phoenix had swooped past Harry and Andromeda and was now fluttering in front of them, his beady eyes bright in the dark. He was waving his long golden tail feathers. Andromeda looked uncertainly at him.

"He looks like he wants you to grab hold. . ." said Ron, looking perplexed. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there -"

"Fawkes," said Harry, "isn't an ordinary bird." He turned quickly to the others and grabbed Andromeda's hand. "We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand. Professor Lockhart -"

"He means you," said Ron sharply to Lockhart.

"You hold Ginny's other hand. Ron, you hold onto Noah as well, and Noah can hold on to Dorcas," Andromeda finished, holding her hand out to Dorcas.

Harry tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat into his belt, and Harry reached out and took hold of Fawkes's strangely hot tail feathers.

An extraordinary lightness seemed to spread through her whole body and the next second, in a rush of wings, they were flying upward through the pipe. Andromeda could hear Lockhart dangling below her, saying, "Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!" and she snorted loudly. The chill air was whipping through Andromeda's hair, and before she'd stopped enjoying the ride, it was over - all eight of them were hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and as Lockhart straightened his hat, the sink that hid the pipe was sliding back into place.

Myrtle goggled at them.

"You're alive," she said blankly to Harry.

"There's no need to sound so disappointed," he said grimly, wiping flecks of blood and slime off his glasses.

"Oh, well... I'd just been thinking... if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," said Myrtle, blushing silver.

"Urgh!" said Ron as they left the bathroom for the dark, deserted corridor outside. "Harry! I think Myrtle's grown fond of you! You've got competition, Ginny!"

But tears were still flooding silently down Ginny's face.

"Where now?" said Noah, with an anxious look at Ginny. Andromeda pointed.

Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold along the corridor. They strode after him, and moments later, found themselves outside Professor McGonagall's office.

Harry knocked and pushed the door open.


	18. Chapter 18 - Dobby's Reward

**Chapter 18 - Dobby's Reward**

For a moment there was silence as Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart stood in the doorway, covered in muck and slime and (in Harry's and Andromeda's cases) blood. Then there was a scream.

"Ginny!"

It was Mrs. Weasley, who had been sitting crying in front of the fire. She leapt to her feet, closely followed by Mr. Weasley, and both of them flung themselves on their daughter.

Andromeda, however, was looking past them. Professor Dumbledore was standing by the mantelpiece, beaming, next to Professor McGonagall, who was taking great, steadying gasps, clutching her chest. Fawkes went whooshing past Harry's ear and settled on Dumbledore's shoulder, just as she found herself, Harry, Dorcas, Noah and Ron being swept into Mrs. Weasleys tight embrace.

"You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?"

"I think we'd all like to know that," said Professor McGonagall weakly.

Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry and Andromeda, then Harry walked over to the desk and laid upon it the Sorting Hat, the ruby-encrusted sword, and what remained of Riddle's diary while Andromeda walked over and stood awkwardly in front of Professor McGonagall before throwing her arms around her.

When she let go of her professor, they started telling them everything even the part about Andromeda's scar. For nearly a quarter of an hour they spoke into the rapt silence: they told them about hearing the disembodied voice, how Hermione had finally realized that they were hearing a basilisk in the pipes; how they, Dorcas, Noah and Ron had followed the spiders into the forest, that Aragog had told them where the last victim of the basilisk had died; how Dorcas had guessed that Moaning Myrtle had been the victim, and that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets might be in her bathroom...

"Very well," Professor McGonagall prompted them as they paused, "so you found out where the entrance was - breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add - but how on earth did you all get out of there alive?"

So Harry and Andromeda, their voices now growing hoarse from all this talking, told them about Fawkes's timely arrival and about the Sorting Hat giving Harry the sword. But then they faltered. They had so far avoided mentioning Riddle's diary - or Ginny. She was standing with her head against Mrs. Weasley's shoulder, and tears were still coursing silently down her cheeks. What if they expelled her? Andromeda thought in panic. Riddle's diary didn't work anymore... How could they prove it had been he who'd made her do it all?

Instinctively, Andromeda looked at Dumbledore, who smiled faintly, the firelight glancing off his half-moon spectacles.

"What interests me most," said Dumbledore gently, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania."

Relief - warm, sweeping, glorious relief - swept over Andromeda.

"W- what's that?" said Mr. Weasley in a stunned voice. "You-Know-Who? En-enchant Ginny? But Ginny's not... Ginny hasn't been... has she?"

"It was this diary," said Andromeda quickly, picking it up and showing it to Dumbledore. "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen . . . ."

Dumbledore took the diary from Andromeda and peered keenly down his long, crooked nose at its burnt and soggy pages.

"Brilliant," he said softly. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." He turned around to the Weasleys, who were looking utterly bewildered.

"Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school ... travelled far and wide... sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

"But, Ginny," said Mrs. Weasley. "What's our Ginny got to do with - with - him?"

"His d-diaryl" Ginny sobbed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year -"

"Ginny!" said Mr. Weasley, flabbergasted. "Haven't I taught you anything. What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain? Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic -"

"I d-didn't know," sobbed Ginny. "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it -"

"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away," Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." He strode over to the door and opened it. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up," he added, twinkling kindly down at her. "You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice - I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."

"So Hermione's okay!" said Ron brightly.

"There has been no lasting harm done, Ginny," said Dumbledore.

Mrs. Weasley led Ginny out, and Mr. Weasley followed, still looking deeply shaken.

"You know, Minerva," Professor Dumbledore said thoughtfully to Professor McGonagall, "I think all this merits a good feast. Might I ask you to go and alert the kitchens?"

"Right," said Professor McGonagall crisply, also moving to the door. "I'll leave you to deal with Potter, Andromeda, Lupin, Pettigrew and Weasley, shall I?"

"Certainly," said Dumbledore.

She left, and Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah and Ron gazed uncertainly at Dumbledore. What exactly had Professor McGonagall meant, deal with them? Surely - surely - they weren't about to be punished?

"I seem to remember telling three of you that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules, said Dumbledore.

Ron, Noah and Dorcas opened their mouths in horror.

"Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words," Dumbledore went on, smiling. "You will all receive Special Awards for Services to the School and - let me see - yes, I think two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor."

Dorcas went as brightly pink as Lockhart's valentine flowers and closed her mouth again.

"But one of us seems to be keeping mightily quiet about his part in this dangerous adventure," Dumbledore added. "Why so modest, Gilderoy?"

Andromeda gave a start. He had completely forgotten about Lockhart. He turned and saw that Lockhart was standing in a corner of the room, still wearing his vague smile. When Dumbledore addressed him, Lockhart looked over his shoulder to see who he was talking to.

"Professor Dumbledore," Ron said quickly, "there was an accident down in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart -"

"Am I a professor?" said Lockhart in mild surprise. "Goodness. I expect I was hopeless, was I?"

"Very," Andromeda told him.

"He tried to do a Memory Charm and the wand backfired," Ron explained quietly to Dumbledore.

"Dear me," said Dumbledore, shaking his head, his long silver moustache quivering. "Impaled upon your own sword, Gilderoy!"

"Sword?" said Lockhart dimly. "Haven't got a sword. That boy has, though." He pointed at Harry. "He'll lend you one."

"Would you mind taking Professor Lockhart up to the infirmary, too?" Dumbledore said to Ron, Noah and Dorcas. "I'd like a few more words with Harry and Andromeda..."

Lockhart ambled out. Ron, Noah and Dorcas cast curious looks back at Dumbledore, Andromeda and Harry as they closed the door.

Dumbledore crossed to one of the chairs by the fire.

"Sit down, Harry, Andromeda," he said, and Harry and Andromeda sat, feeling unaccountably nervous.

"First of all , I want to thank you both," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling again. "You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you."

He stroked the phoenix, which had fluttered down onto his knee. Andromeda and Harry grinned awkwardly as Dumbledore watched him.

"And so you met Tom Riddle," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "I imagine he was most interested in you two... Although I don't suppose you, Miss Black, are going to explain why you didn't tell anyone about your scar?"

Andromeda shook her head. "No, Professor, I don't really want to explain."

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said. "Riddle said we're like him. Strange likenesses, he said..."

"Did he, now?" said Dumbledore, looking thoughtfully at Harry from under his thick silver eyebrows. "And what do you think, Harry?"

"I don't think we're like him!" said Harry, more loudly than he'd intended. "I mean, we – we're in Gryffindor, we . . ."

But he fell silent, a lurking doubt resurfacing in his mind.

"Professor," he started again after a moment. "The Sorting Hat told me I'd – I'd have done well in Slytherin. And Andy's whole family was in Slytherin. Everyone thought we were Slytherin's heir for a while ... because we can speak Parseltongue ...

"You can speak Parseltongue," said Dumbledore calmly, "because Lord Voldemort - who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin - can speak Parseltongue. Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to both of you the night he gave you those scars. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure..."

"Voldemort put a bit of himself in us?" Andromeda said, disgusted.

"It certainly seems so."

"So we should be in Slytherin," Andromeda said dully, looking desperately into Dumbledore's face. "The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin's power in us, and it -"

"Put you both in Gryffindor," said Dumbledore calmly. "Listen to me, Harry, Andromeda. You both happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand- picked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue - resourcefulness - determination - a certain disregard for rules," he added, his moustache quivering again. "Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think."

"It only put us in Gryffindor," said Harry in a defeated voice, "because we asked not to go in Slytherin..."

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, beaming once more. "Which makes you two very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Harry and Andromeda sat motionless in their chairs, stunned. "If you want proof that you belong in Gryffindor, I suggest you look more closely at this."

Dumbledore reached across to Professor McGonagall's desk, picked up the blood-stained silver sword, and handed it to Harry. Dully, Harry turned it over, the rubies blazing in the firelight. And then Andromeda saw the name engraved just below the hilt.

 _Godric Gryffindor_

"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat, Harry," said Dumbledore simply.

For a minute, none of them spoke. Then Dumbledore pulled open one of the drawers in Professor McGonagall's desk and took out a quill and a bottle of ink.

"What about me, then?" Andromeda said. "I didn't pull the sword out. And the hat told me that I have all the traits of a Slytherin..."

"Oh, my, Andromeda," Dumbledore chuckled, much to Andromeda's surprise. "I have seen how you act, so much like your father did. I would say what you do, how you stand up for what you believe in, as you did earlier this year to get out of Defence Against the Dark Arts, that you have much courage in your everyday actions, but most of all, you are brave even when you are scared and in danger, and I think that is all that really matters, don't you?

"Now, what you need, Harry, Andromeda is some food and sleep. I suggest you go down to the feast, while I write to Azkaban - we need our gamekeeper back. And I must draft an advertisement for the Daily Prophet, too," he added thoughtfully. "We'll be needing a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher... Dear me, we do seem to run through them, don't we?"

Harry and Andromeda got up and crossed to the door. Harry had just reached for the handle, however, when the door burst open so violently that it bounced back off the wall.

Lucius Malfoy stood there, fury in his face. And cowering behind his legs, heavily wrapped in bandages, was Dobby.

"Good evening, Lucius," said Dumbledore pleasantly.

Mr. Malfoy almost knocked Harry and Andromeda over as he swept into the room. Dobby went scurrying in after him, crouching at the hem of his cloak, a look of abject terror on his face.

The elf was carrying a stained rag with which he was attempting to finish cleaning Mr. Malfoys shoes. Apparently Mr. Malfoy had set out in a great hurry, for not only were his shoes half-polished, but his usually sleek hair was dishevelled. Ignoring the elf bobbing apologetically around his ankles, he fixed his cold eyes upon Dumbledore.

"So!" he said "You've come back. The governors suspended you, but you still saw fit to return to Hogwarts."

"Well, you see, Lucius," said Dumbledore, smiling serenely, "the other eleven governors contacted me today. It was something like being caught in a hailstorm of owls, to tell the truth. They'd heard that Arthur Weasleys daughter had been killed and wanted me back here at once. They seemed to think I was the best man for the job after all. Very strange tales they told me, too ... Several of them seemed to think that you had threatened to curse their families if they didn't agree to suspend me in the first place."

Mr. Malfoy went even paler than usual, but his eyes were still slits of fury.

"So - have you stopped the attacks yet?" he sneered. "Have you caught the culprit?"

"We have," said Dumbledore, with a smile.

"Well?"said Mr. Malfoy sharply. "Who is it?"

"The same person as last time, Lucius," said Dumbledore. "But this time, Lord Voldemort was acting through somebody else. By means of this diary."

He held up the small black book with the large hole through the centre, watching Mr. Malfoy closely. Andromeda, however, was watching Dobby.

The elf was doing something very odd. His great eyes fixed meaningfully on Harry and Andromeda, he kept pointing at the diary, then at Mr. Malfoy, and then hitting himself hard on the head with his fist.

"I see..." said Mr. Malfoy slowly to Dumbledore.

"A clever plan," said Dumbledore in a level voice, still staring Mr. Malfoy straight in the eye. "Because if Harry and Andromeda here" -Mr. Malfoy shot Harry and Andromeda a swift, sharp look - "and their friends Ron, Dorcas and Noah hadn't discovered this book, why - Ginny Weasley might have taken all the blame. No one would ever have been able to prove she hadn't acted of her own free will..."

Mr. Malfoy said nothing. His face was suddenly masklike.

"And imagine," Dumbledore went on, "what might have happened then... The Weasleys are one of our most prominent pure-blood families. Imagine the effect on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act, if his own daughter was discovered attacking and - killing Muggle-borns... Very fortunate the diary was discovered, and Riddle's memories wiped from it. Who knows what the consequences might have been otherwise..."

Mr. Malfoy forced himself to speak.

"Very fortunate," he said stiffly.

And still, behind his back, Dobby was pointing, first to the diary, then to Lucius Malfoy, then punching himself in the head.

And Andromeda suddenly understood. She nodded at Dobby, and Dobby backed into a corner, now twisting his ears in punishment.

"Don't you want to know how Ginny got hold of that diary, Mr. Malfoy?" said Harry next to her.

Lucius Malfoy rounded on him.

"How should I know how the stupid little girl got hold of it?" he said.

"Because you gave it to her," said Andromeda. "In Flourish and Blotts. You picked up her old Transfiguration book and slipped the diary inside it, didn't you?"

He saw Mr. Malfoy's white hands clench and unclench.

"Prove it," he hissed.

"Oh, no one will be able to do that," said Dumbledore, smiling at Harry and Andromeda. "Not now that Riddle has vanished from the book. On the other hand, I would advise you, Lucius, not to go giving out any more of Lord Voldemort's old school things. If any more of them find their way into innocent hands, I think Arthur Weasley, for one, will make sure they are traced back to you..."

Lucius Malfoy stood for a moment, and Andromeda distinctly saw his right hand twitch as though he was longing to reach for his wand. Instead, he turned to his house-elf.

"We're going, Dobby!"

He wrenched open the door and as the elf came hurrying up to him, he kicked him right through it. They could hear Dobby squealing with pain all the way along the corridor.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said hurriedly and Andromeda looked at him curiously. "Can I give that diary back to Mr. Malfoy, please?"

"Certainly, Harry," said Dumbledore calmly. "But hurry. The feast, remember..."

Harry grabbed the diary and dashed out of the office, Andromeda right behind him. She could hear Dobby's squeals of pain receding around the corner. Then Harry did something very strange; Harry took off one of his shoes, pulled off his slimy, filthy sock, and stuffed the diary into it. Then they ran down the dark corridor.

They caught up with them at the top of the stairs.

"Mr. Malfoy," Harry gasped, skidding to a halt, "I've got something for you -"

And he forced the smelly sock into Lucius Malfoy's hand.

"What the -?"

Mr. Malfoy ripped the sock off the diary, threw it aside, then looked furiously from the ruined book to Harry to Andromeda.

"You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter," he said softly. "They were meddlesome fools, too."

He turned to go.

"Come, Dobby. I said, come."

But Dobby didn't move. He was holding up Harry's disgusting, slimy sock, and looking at it as though it were a priceless treasure.

"Master has given a sock," said the elf in wonderment. "Master gave it to Dobby."

"What's that?" spat Mr. Malfoy. "What did you say?"

"Got a sock," said Dobby in disbelief. "Master threw it, and Dobby caught it, and Dobby - Dobby is free."

Lucius Malfoy stood frozen, staring at the elf. Then he lunged at Harry.

"You've lost me my servant, boy!"

But Dobby shouted, "You shall not harm Harry Potter!"

There was a loud bang, and Mr. Malfoy was thrown backward. He crashed down the stairs, three at a time, landing in a crumpled heap on the landing below. He got up, his face livid, and pulled out his wand, but Dobby raised a long, threatening finger.

"You shall go now," he said fiercely, pointing down at Mr. Malfoy. "You shall not touch Harry Potter. You shall go now."

Lucius Malfoy had no choice. With a last, incensed stare at the pair of them, he swung his cloak around him and hurried out of sight.

"Harry Potter freed Dobby!" said the elf shrilly, gazing up at Harry, moonlight from the nearest window reflected in his orb-like eyes. "Harry Potter set Dobby free!"

"Least I could do, Dobby," said Harry, grinning. "Just promise never to try and save my life again."

The elf's ugly brown face split suddenly into a wide, toothy smile.

"I've just got one question, Dobby," said Harry as Dobby pulled on Harry's sock with shaking hands. "You told us all this had nothing to do with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, remember? Well -"

"It was a clue, sir," said Dobby, his eyes widening, as though this was obvious. "Was giving you a clue. The Dark Lord, before he changed his name, could be freely named, you see?"

"Right," said Andromeda weakly. "Well, we'd better go. There's a feast, and our friend Hermione should be awake by now..."

Dobby threw his arms around Harry's middle and hugged him before doing the same to Andromeda.

"Harry Potter and Andromeda Black is greater by far than Dobby knew!" he sobbed. "Farewell, Harry Potter and Andromeda Black!"

And with a final loud crack, Dobby disappeared.

"You know..." Andromeda said, turning to Harry with a smile. "That was really kind of you."

Then she punched him.

"Ow! Andy!" Harry yelped. "What was that for?"

"You bloody dolt, Harry!" Andromeda said loudly and hugged him. Tears started to form and she whispered softly, "Please never try and get yourself killed like that again or I will kill you myself."

"Aww, Andy," Harry said and she could feel him smile. "You do care!"

"Of course I do, I love you, you idiot."

Harry pulled back suddenly and Andromeda panicked.

"So Malfoy was right then?" he said, but instead of frowning like Andromeda thought he would, he smirked.

"Oh – uh – I –"

She was cut off, however, by Harry's lips. The kiss only lasted a couple of seconds. When they pulled back, she pinched her arm. Nope, she thought, not dreaming.

Andromeda had been to several Hogwarts feasts, but never one quite like this. Everybody was in their pyjamas, and the celebration lasted all night. Andromeda didn't know whether the best bit was Hermione running toward them, screaming "You solved it! You solved it!" or Justin hurrying over from the Hufflepuff table to wring their hands and apologize endlessly for suspecting them, or Hagrid turning up at half past three, cuffing them so hard on the shoulders that they were knocked into their plates of trifle, or their one thousand points for Gryffindor securing the House Cup for the second year running, or Professor McGonagall standing up to tell them all that the exams had been cancelled as a school treat ("Oh, no!" said Hermione), or Dumbledore announcing that, unfortunately, Professor Lockhart would be unable to return next year, owing to the fact that he needed to go away and get his memory back. Quite a few of the teachers joined in the cheering that greeted this news.

"Shame," said Ron, helping himself to a jam doughnut. "He was starting to grow on me."

The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences - Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled ("but I didn't have them anyway," Andromeda told Hermione when she looked at her in horror) and Lucius Malfoy had been sacked as a school governor. Draco was no longer strutting around the school as though he owned the place. On the contrary, he looked resentful and sulky. On the other hand, Ginny Weasley was perfectly happy again. Harry and Andromeda had also not talked about their kiss to anyone, but rather shred a few more secret ones when they could.

Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Andromeda, Dorcas, Noah, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny got a compartment to themselves. They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, and practiced disarming each other by magic. Andromeda was getting very good at it.

They were almost at King's Cross when Andromeda remembered something.

"Ginny - what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"

"Oh, that," said Ginny, giggling. "Well - Percy's got a girlfriend." Fred dropped a stack of books on George's head.

"What?"

"It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater," said Ginny. "That's who he was writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them kissing in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was - you know - attacked. You won't tease him, will you?" she added anxiously.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Fred, who was looking like his birthday had come early.

"Definitely not," said George, sniggering.

The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped.

Harry pulled out his quill and a bit of parchment and turned to Ron, Dorcas, Noah and Hermione.

"This is called a telephone number," he told them, scribbling it twice, tearing the parchment in two, and handing it to them. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer - he'll know. Call us at the Dursleys', okay? We can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to..."

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward the enchanted barrier. "When they hear what you two did this year?"

"Proud?" said Harry. "Are you crazy? All those times we could've died, and we didn't manage it? They'll be furious..."

And together they all walked back through the gateway to the Muggle world.


	19. Author's Note

**Hi! So I just want to know what you, as the readers, want to happen for the rest of the books so I just want to ask a few questions.**

 **1\. What/who do you want to see more of/less of?**

 **2\. Last time I wrote a couple of books similar to this, I had Andromeda go and live with the Tonks family, but had her have to choose between the Tonks' and the Malfoys because she is part of their family. Who do you want Andromeda to live with? Or should she stay with the Dursleys?**

 **3\. What relationships do you want to see happen throughout the series (I'm already going to do Harry/Andromeda)?**

 **4\. What headcannons or ideas do you have that you would like me to put into the books?**

 **5\. Should I write Sirius as free and innocent at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban? Like have Peter caught and Sirius cleared, but then have Peter escape and go back to Voldemort?**

 **You can either private message me or leave it as a review, I don't mind either way and you can do it anonymously if you wish. If you have any answers to these questions, it would be great, even if it is just for one or two of the questions. Thanks!**


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